TheRotofeed

Buddy Kennedy Elects Free Agency

Nick Deeds — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 03:19:45 +0000

The Phillies announced this evening that infielder Buddy Kennedy has cleared waivers and has elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

The 26-year-old was DFA’d by Philadelphia multiple times this season. Kennedy has gotten into just 58 big league games during his career across the Diamondbacks, Tigers, and Phillies organizations but entered the 2025 season with no options remaining after several years of being utilized primarily as optionable infield depth. Kennedy’s .193/.287/.296 slash line across 157 major league plate appearances is hardly spectacular, though he’s an adequate defender at both second and third base with a .283/.380/.441 slash line for his career at Triple-A.

That on-base ability has shown up somewhat in the majors given his 10.8% walk rate, and his 24.2% strikeout rate is hardly out of line with what’s to be expected in the league’s current environment. Kennedy’s biggest flaw as a hitter is that he’s hit for previous little power in the majors, and even at Triple-A he’s never slugged more than 13 homers in a season. That lack of power has held him back from getting an extended big league opportunity to this point, but perhaps now that he’s elected free agency and can be signed by any club on a low-risk minor league deal he’ll be able to find a more robust opportunity on a big league bench somewhere.

Alternatively, players with Kennedy’s substantial success in the minor leagues who haven’t gotten much attention in the majors have often found success trying their hand at playing overseas. Matt Davidson and Guillermo Heredia are two hitters who have found substantial success in the KBO League, and Eric Thames famously made it back to the majors after struggling initially by posting sensational numbers in South Korea. At just 26 years old, Kennedy is certainly young enough to have the opportunity to try his hand at playing in a league overseas and return to affiliated ball if he finds success there.

Giants Place Erik Miller On IL, Select Scott Alexander

Nick Deeds — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 01:25:20 +0000

The Giants announced a pair of roster moves this evening after announcing the return of Matt Chapman earlier in the day. The club placed left-hander Erik Miller on the 15-day injured list due to a left elbow sprain and selected the contract of left-hander Scott Alexander to replace him on the active roster. A 40-man roster spot was already open after the club’s DFA of Sergio Alcantara earlier today.

More to come.

Yankees Sign Jeimer Candelario To Minor League Deal

Nick Deeds — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 01:07:43 +0000

The Yankees have signed infielder Jeimer Candelario to a minor league deal, as announced by the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (h/t to Conor Foley of YES Network). Yancen Pujols reports that Candelario is expected to report to Triple-A on Monday and that Candelario had multiple offers before he settled on the Yankees.

Candelario, 31, was recently released by the Reds while in the midst of year two of his three-year pact with the organization. It’s not hard to see why Cincinnati pulled the plug, as he has battled injuries all throughout his tenure with the club and hit just .207/.265/.394 across 134 games with the club over the past two seasons. Almost all of that production came in year one of the contract, as Candelario made it into just 22 games this year and hit a paltry .113/.198/.213 in 91 trips to the plate before being designated for assignment.

Despite that lackluster work in recent years, Candelario is not far removed from a four-year run from 2020 to 2023 where he slashed a strong .254/.329/.437 in 465 games for the Tigers, Nationals, and Cubs. That production wound up being good for a wRC+ of 111, and he enjoyed three-win campaigns in both 2021 and ’23. A resurgence to that sort of level would be a godsend for the scuffling Yankees. A recent skid where they’ve lost 16 of their last 22 games has seen them drop from the heavy favorites in the AL East to three games back of the Blue Jays and tied with the Rays in the division.

That consistent stretch of losing has led to plenty of attention on the club’s hole on the infield. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a solid player who can handle either second or third base as necessary, but a supporting cast of DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza to hold down the other position just hasn’t cut it. If Candelario can prove he’s healthy and effective again, it’s not hard to imagine him being an upgrade over the Yankees’ current options to partner with Chisholm. With that being said, trade season is already upon us and some intriguing infielders like Eugenio Suarez, Luis Urias, Ryan McMahon, and Amed Rosario could be available this summer.

Any of those players would be a more reliable addition than Candelario at this point, and it’s not hard to imagine the Yankees feeling as though they can’t afford to roll the dice on a player who hasn’t been healthy and effective in nearly two years now. Still, he’d at the very least represent a more robust depth option for the Yankees than the likes of Nicky Lopez and Andrew Velasquez who were already in the organization on minor league deals.

Giants Activate Matt Chapman, DFA Sergio Alcantara

Nick Deeds — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 23:00:52 +0000

The Giants announced a series of roster moves this evening, headlined by the return of third baseman Matt Chapman from the injured list. Infielder Sergio Alcantara was designated for assignment to make room for Chapman on the active roster. Additionally, the Giants optioned right-hander Mason Black to Triple-A and recalled right-hander Tristan Beck.

More to come.

Nationals Reinstate Mason Thompson From 60-Day IL

Nick Deeds — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 22:51:33 +0000

The Nationals announced this afternoon that they’ve activated right-hander Mason Thompson from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Zach Brzykcy was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Thompson on the active roster, while right-hander Derek Law was transferred to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Thompson.

Thompson, 27, last pitched in the majors back in 2023. A third-round pick by the Padres back in 2016, he made his big league debut in San Diego during the 2021 season but made just four appearances with the team before being traded to the Nationals in exchange for veteran righty Daniel Hudson at the 2021 trade deadline. Since then, he’s pitched parts of three seasons in a Nationals uniform. He’s generally been a league average reliever during his time with Washington, posting a 4.57 ERA (91 ERA+) with a 4.43 FIP in his 100 1/3 innings of work for the club.

The righty was at his best in 2022, when he posted a sterling 2.92 ERA in 24 2/3 innings of work. With that being said, that dominant performance came across a sample of just 24 2/3 innings of work and saw him post a strikeout rate of just 14.9%. 2023 saw his strikeout rate creep back up to 18.3%, but his ground ball rate dropped from 53.3% to 50.6% as his ERA ballooned up to 5.50. He figured to once again be part of the Nationals bullpen mix last year despite those lackluster numbers, but he underwent Tommy John surgery last March and has been sidelined ever since. He began rehabbing in mid-June and was promoted to Triple-A earlier this week, where he made two scoreless appearances before rejoining the Nats.

Kyle Finnegan is locked in as the club’s closer, but the team has few other solid bullpen options and a strong performance from Thompson could allow him to work his way into the club’s late-inning mix going forward. Departing the roster to make room for Thompson is Brzykcy, who made his MLB debut last year and has a 7.40 ERA in 20 2/3 innings of work this year. He’ll remain as optionable depth at Triple-A for the Nats going forward. As for Law, the right-hander has been sidelined all season due to forearm inflammation. Things may have taken a turn for the worse recently, however, as MASN’s Mark Zuckerman writes that Law has been dogged by frequent setbacks throughout his rehab and is headed for an MRI exam to make sure the injury hasn’t worsened since he was initially placed on the shelf. Even if the MRI doesn’t reveal structural damage, Zuckerman writes that Law could still be sidelined for quite some time due to the issue.

Bobby Jenks Passes Away

Nick Deeds — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 21:14:45 +0000

Two-time All-Star and 2005 World Series champion Bobby Jenks passed away yesterday, per an announcement from the White Sox. Chicago also released a tribute video alongside the announcement. Jenks passed after a battle with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer. He was just 44 years old.

Jenks was a fifth-round pick by the Angels in the 2000 draft but was designated for assignment by the Halos before he even made it to the big leagues. He was claimed off the waiver wire by the White Sox and joined the big league bullpen in July of 2005. He scuffled a bit early on, with four runs allowed across his first five appearances in the big leagues, but settled in not long after that and notched his first career save on August 25 when he closed out a ten-inning game against the Twins.

He continued in a late-inning role for those White Sox down the stretch, and finished the regular season with a 2.75 ERA, six saves, and a 29.8% strikeout rate. Jenks’s dominance carried over into the postseason with a 2.25 ERA, four saves, and eight strikeouts in eight playoff innings. The right-hander was on the mound to finish off the club’s four-game sweep of the Astros in the Fall Classic, closing out a 1-0 victory by inducing a groundout from Orlando Palmeiro to emerge from his rookie season as a World Series champion.

More to come.

Rangers To Sign Rowdy Tellez To Minor League Deal

Leo Morgenstern — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 20:47:38 +0000

TODAY: The deal between the Rangers and Tellez is now official, as relayed by Sean McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. Tellez will report to Triple-A for tonight’s game.

July 4: The Rangers are signing free agent Rowdy Tellez to a minor league contract, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. Tellez was released by the Mariners last week.

Now more than ever, Tellez seems to be a one-dimensional player, offering big power against right-handed pitching and not much else. He has put up negative defensive metrics at first base in every season of his career, including -5 DRS and -5 OAA in 393 innings this year with Seattle. Unsurprisingly, he is also a poor baserunner, with the second-slowest sprint speed among qualified runners in 2025. According to FanGraphs, he has also produced negative baserunning value in all eight seasons of his career.

Of course, no one ever expected Tellez to be a valuable defender or baserunner. What was surely more disappointing to the Mariners were his declining contact and on-base skills. He was chasing and whiffing significantly more than he had in recent years, and the result was his worst walk-to-strikeout ratio since his first big league cup of coffee in 2018. His power was still present. Indeed, he was barrelling balls up at the highest rate of his career (15.9%), and accordingly, he crushed six doubles and 11 home runs in just 62 games and 185 trips to the plate. Yet, despite the fact that the Mariners shielded him from left-handed pitching so effectively, his worsened plate discipline canceled out his .891 OPS on contact, and his overall batting line with Seattle was below league average (92 wRC+).

With all that said, Tellez’s .217 BABIP with the Mariners was well below his .259 career average entering the season, and the 54-point gap between his .293 wOBA and .347 xwOBA is the 12th-highest in the league (min. 180 PA). So, there is still some reason to believe that Tellez can overcome his shortcomings to be a productive major leaguer in 2025. And if any team is going to give him the chance to try, it makes sense that it’s the Rangers. Their team-wide 91 wRC+ against right-handed pitching is the fifth-worst in the sport, ahead of only the Pirates, Royals, White Sox, and Rockies. With Joc Pederson still weeks away from making his return from the IL, signing Tellez is a low-risk and potentially high-reward move by Texas.

Yankees Likely To Promote Cam Schlittler

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 20:25:58 +0000

The Yankees are currently planning to add pitching prospect Cam Schlittler to the big league roster on either Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Joel Sherman and Dan Martin of the New York Post. Multiple transactions will be required in advance since Schlittler isn’t on the 40-man roster, though 40-man space can be easily created by moving Clarke Schmidt to the 60-day injured list. Schmidt will miss the rest of the season due to an expected Tommy John surgery, which has opened the door for Schlittler to make his Major League debut.

Allan Winans was only just optioned to Triple-A last Sunday and thus his minimum 15-day stay in the minors isn’t yet up, unless another injury arises in the next few days to allow New York to bring Winans back to the Show. Should a forthcoming create a path back for Winans, the Yankees might change course, which is why Sherman and Martin note that the club hasn’t yet absolutely decided to call Schlittler up.

Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, and Will Warren comprise the top four pitchers in a rotation that has now taken another big injury hit with the loss of Schmidt, on top of Gerrit Cole’s Tommy John surgery in March. Luis Gil has missed the entire season due to a lat strain and isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break, while Sherman/Martin write that swingman Ryan Yarbrough is expected to be out until August while recovering from an oblique strain. This means Schlittler might get a bit of an extended audition beyond just a start in New York’s upcoming series with the Mariners, unless Winans is recalled or if the Yankees perhaps acquired another pitcher.

A seventh-round pick for the Yankees in the 2022 draft, Schlittler has a 3.33 ERA over 243 1/3 career pro innings, starting 50 of his 54 games. This year, he has a 2.38 ERA over 53 innings of Double-A ball this season and a 3.80 ERA in 23 2/3 innings at Triple-A. Schlittler has an impressive 31.9% strikeout rate over his 76 2/3 total innings this season, as well as an 8.4% walk rate and a 47.8% grounder rate. The right-hander has consistently done a good job of keeping the ball on the ground, though this does leave him open to some batted-ball variance, such as his .350 BABIP in the minors this season.

Baseball America ranks the 6’6″, 210-pound Schlittler fifth on their list of the Yankees’ minor league prospects, while he sits tenth on MLB Pipeline’s Yankees farm rankings. Both outlets put a 60-grade on Schlittler’s fastball, which averages around 94mph and can hit as high as 97-98mph, plus BA’s scouting report cites the pitch’s “15 inches of induced vertical break.” BA’s report is also a big fan of the sweeper Schlittler has been developing, which nicely complements his more standard slider. This combination of pitches hints that Schlittler could be a very promising reliever if his future as a starter doesn’t work out, but evaluators feel he has a chance to stick as at least a back-end rotation member.

Astros Sign Hector Neris

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 19:56:41 +0000

2:56PM: Neris’s deal is official and he is active for today’s game, according to Matt Kawahawa of the Houston Chronicle. Right-hander Jason Alexander has been optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

2:25PM: The Astros are set to sign right-hander Hector Neris to a Major League contract, KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reports. The Angels designated Neris for assignment and then released the veteran reliever this week after he cleared waivers, but Neris didn’t have to wait long on the open market for his next deal.

Neris posted a 2.69 ERA over 133 2/3 innings for Houston during the 2022-23 seasons, as well as a 1.50 ERA over six playoff innings during the Astros’ run to the 2022 World Series. He signed a one-year, $9MM deal with the Cubs during the 2023-24 offseason, and after Chicago released him last August, Neris rejoined the Astros but didn’t really recapture the magic, delivering only a 4.70 ERA in 15 1/3 innings over the remainder of the 2024 campaign.

A pair of minor league contracts with the Braves and Angels saw Neris receive some MLB time with both clubs this season, and Neris has a 7.80 ERA over 15 combined innings with the two teams. A big 29.4% strikeout rate has been countered by an 11.8% walk rate, and Neris has allowed three home runs over his small sample size of big league activity.

Neris’ 3.47 SIERA is perhaps a truer reflection of his performance, which is probably why the Astros opted to guarantee a roster spot to the 36-year-old. His past history as a known quantity and clubhouse favorite in Houston also undoubtedly played a role, as both parties will see if Neris can regain his old status as an innings-eating bullpen workhorse. The Astros’ bullpen has been one of the very best in baseball this season, so the team has the luxury of giving Neris an audition to see if he can even further deepen the relief corps.

Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup 7/4: What’s My Adrian?

Nick Pollack — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 19:50:59 +0000

Nick Pollack reviews every starting pitcher performance from Friday.

The post Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup 7/4: What’s My Adrian? appeared first on Pitcher List.

Dodgers Not Planning To Add Third Base Help Before Deadline

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 19:37:43 +0000

Max Muncy is expected to be out until roughly the second week of August after sustaining a bone bruise in his left knee on Wednesday. While losing Muncy for six weeks will leave a significant hole in the Dodgers’ lineup, the club seems content to just stick with internal replacements rather than seek out infield depth at the trade deadline, manager Dave Roberts and GM Brandon Gomes told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times).

“Even if [Muncy’s recovery] is way slow, you have a full month of baseball before we hit the playoffs,” Gomes said. “So we’re giving him that time to get back into a good place and try to set a good foundation, like we try to do with all of our guys, to be prepared for that stretch run.”

The Dodgers have baseball’s best record (56-33) and an eight-game lead over the second-place Padres in the NL West. With yet another postseason trip already looking like a lock, the Dodgers can afford to play the long game in even their post-deadline plans, on top of the remaining weeks to evaluate things prior to the July 31 trade deadline.

“With the time we have, there’s nothing pressing as far as needing to rush [Muncy] back,” Roberts said. “I think we’re in a good spot….Knowing the certainty of Max coming back at some point. I don’t think that will really impact our thinking going into the deadline.”

Of course, this could be gamesmanship on some level for Gomes and Roberts, as it wouldn’t exactly help the Dodgers’ leverage to publicly announce a quest for infield help. It is also possible that the duo are being completely forthright, yet Los Angeles could still change course before the deadline if Muncy has a setback, or if he isn’t progressing well as July 31 approaches. Bone bruises are often hard to officially diagnose in terms of a recovery timeline, since the nature of the injury lends itself to lingering discomfort.

The L.A. roster is also deep enough that Muncy’s absence opens up some room for others to get some deserved playing time. Most prominently, Hyeseong Kim will likely get more time in the lineup, after hitting .360/.406/.506 over his first 96 big league plate appearances. Kim’s playing time at second base should increase as Tommy Edman is used along with Enrique Hernandez and Miguel Rojas in the third base rotation while Muncy is out.

Astros To Sign Hector Neris

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 19:25:41 +0000

The Astros are set to sign right-hander Hector Neris to a Major League contract, KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reports. The Angels designated Neris for assignment and then released the veteran reliever this week after he cleared waivers, but Neris didn’t have to wait long on the open market for his next deal.

Braves Release Alex Verdugo

Steve Adams — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 18:51:55 +0000

TODAY: The Braves released Verdugo after he cleared waivers, the Athletic’s David O’Brien writes.

JULY 2: The Braves have designated outfielder Alex Verdugo for assignment, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Verdugo’s spot on the roster will go to fellow outfielder Jurickson Profar, who will be reinstated from the restricted list after serving an 80-game PED ban.

Verdugo, 29, signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with Atlanta late in the offseason. He first filled a reserve role behind Jarred Kelenic but wound up thrust into a more prominent role when Kelenic’s prolonged struggles to hit big league pitching saw him optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. Verdugo raced out to a hot start with the Braves, hitting .322/.385/.441 in his first 65 plate appearances, but his production has cratered since that time. Dating back to May 6, Verdugo has registered an anemic .203/.257/.225 batting line (37 wRC+) in 148 turns at the plate.

This year’s run with the Braves largely mirrors Verdugo’s 2024 with the Yankees. His early hot streak in New York lasted longer than his hot streak in Atlanta, but his struggles as a Yankee were also more protracted. Verdugo has now tallied 834 plate appearances across the past two seasons and generated a dismal .234/.292/.339 batting line. That’s a far cry from his 2019-23 form, when he batted .283/.338/.432 and served as a solid regular in the outfield corners for the Dodgers and Red Sox.

Even Verdugo’s once-excellent defensive grades have deteriorated in recent years. Defensive Runs Saved still gave him a slightly positive mark (+1) in 426 innings this season, but that’s nowhere near his 2019-24 levels, when he garnered a gaudy +31 mark in 6150 innings. Statcast’s Outs Above Average pegged Verdugo as a scratch defender in 2024 but has him at minus-5 in 2025. Verdugo’s sprint speed used to rank well above average but is now in the 21st percentile of big leaguers, which has obviously cut into his range in left field.

The Braves can trade or place Verdugo on outright waivers at any point in the next five days, although given his guaranteed salary and lack of production, the likeliest outcome will be a release. If and when he clears release waivers, any other club could sign Verdugo and owe him only the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the major league roster. That sum would be subtracted from what Atlanta owes him, but the Braves will remain on the hook for the vast majority of his 2025 salary.

Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 18:33:16 +0000

Right-hander Clarke Schmidt has a tear in his UCL and will probably undergo Tommy John surgery, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Joel Sherman of the New York Post). Schmidt will miss the remainder of the 2025 season and will miss perhaps all of the 2026 season, given the usual 13-15 month recovery timeline for TJ procedures.

It is a worst-case scenario for Schmidt, who went on the 15-day IL yesterday with what was described as forearm tightness. Schmidt told reporters that he had been dealing with the issue for a month, which perhaps makes his recent performances all the more impressive. The righty carried a streak of 28 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings in June but ran into trouble in his last two starts, when Schmidt allowed seven earned runs over nine combined innings against the Athletics and Blue Jays. In that latter outing against Toronto on Thursday, Schmidt was pulled after just three innings of work.

Rotator cuff tendonitis kept Schmidt from making his 2025 debut until April 16, but he’ll now wrap up his season with a 3.32 ERA over 78 2/3 innings. Though his strikeout and walk rates were nothing special, Schmidt did a very good job of limiting hard contact, and benefited from a .232 BABIP. That batted ball luck is reflected in Schmidt’s 4.24 ERA, but the 29-year-old did well to help stabilize a Yankees rotation that was already dealing with a number of injury issues.

Unfortunately, Schmidt now joins ace Gerrit Cole and reliever Jake Cousins as Yankee pitchers who have undergone a Tommy John procedure this season. In the bigger picture, this is the second TJ surgery for Schmidt, who also went under the knife in 2017 when he was still a college pitcher at South Carolina. He also missed a big chunk of the 2021 season due to an elbow strain, and missed about half of last season due to a lat strain.

Since this is Schmidt’s second Tommy John surgery, chances are that his rehab process will sit on the longer end of the usual timeframe. This means Schmidt might only be available for the very end of the 2026 season, and it is probably more likely that he isn’t back until Opening Day 2027. Schmidt is arbitration-controlled through the 2027 season, so the Yankees might consider a non-tender this winter and then look to re-sign the righty to a two-year deal with most of the salary pushed into 2027 when Schmidt is healthy.

In the shorter term, the Yankees now have to figure out how to address Schmidt’s rotation spot. Ryan Yarbrough (oblique strain) and Luis Gil (lat strain) should both be back after the All-Star break, with Gil set to make his 2025 debut after his own long-term injury absence. Between Gil and swingman Yarbrough joining Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, and Will Warren, that might be enough depth at the big league level for New York to remain comfortable with the rotation, plus Allan Winans and prospect Cam Schlittler are available at Triple-A.

There’s also the upcoming trade deadline as a possible avenue for rotation help, if the club decides some upgrades are necessary. The Yankees have some time to see how Gil and Yarbrough fare in their recoveries before deciding one way or the other, plus rival teams’ asking prices on any available starters are surely still very high here in early July. It is possible the front office might have felt compelled to add starting pitching even if Schmidt was still active, yet his loss only makes the rotation more of a need for a struggling Yankees team that is only 6-15 in its last 21 games.

Blue Jays Place Yimi Garcia On 15-Day Injured List

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 18:17:14 +0000

The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Yimi Garcia has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left ankle sprain. Right-hander Robinson Pina was called up from Triple-A to take Garcia’s spot on the active roster.

Garcia was only just activated from a prior IL stint on Wednesday, as the reliever had missed just under six weeks due to a shoulder impingement. The righty’s brief return to Toronto’s roster consisted of one appearance and one inning of work that saw Garcia surrender a game-tying two-run homer to Aaron Judge, though Garcia was still the winning pitcher in the Jays’ 11-9 win over the Yankees.

That outing boosted Garcia’s ERA to 3.86 over 21 innings and 22 games. Garcia has been missing a lot of bats (27.8% strikeout rate), but he has a 13.3% walk rate that would be far and away the highest of his 11 big league seasons. While Garcia hasn’t necessarily been at his sharpest, he has still been a key high-leverage arm out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen, and he’ll now be out again until at least beyond the All-Star break.

The lack of depth at the back of Toronto’s rotation has led the team to lean hard on its bullpen, as the Jays rank eighth in baseball with 337 2/3 relief innings pitched. The Blue Jays figured to be targeting starting and relief pitching at the deadline already, and their needs in the pen will be exacerbated if there’s now any question about Garcia’s availability in the rest of July.

Fantasy Baseball Daily Hitting Recap: 07/04/25

Justin Havelock — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 18:00:30 +0000

Breaking down notable hitting performances from yesterday’s games.

The post Fantasy Baseball Daily Hitting Recap: 07/04/25 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Mets Sign Zach Pop, Designate Tyler Zuber

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 17:44:09 +0000

TODAY: The Mets officially announced Pop’s signing. Right-hander Austin Warren was optioned to Triple-A in one corresponding move, and 40-man roster space was created when right-hander Tyler Zuber was designated for assignment.

Zuber has a 5.27 ERA in 54 2/3 innings of parts of four MLB seasons with the Royals, Rays, and Mets. He came to New York from Tampa in a deadline deal a year ago and has mostly pitched in the Mets’ minor league system, as his big league tenure in Queens consists of a single appearance and two relief innings in the Mets’ 7-1 loss to the Phillies on June 22.

JULY 3: The Mets and right-hander Zach Pop are in agreement on a major league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Whenever it is official, corresponding moves will be required to get him onto to the 40-man and active rosters.

Pop, 28, just spent a few weeks on the Mariners’ roster. He made four appearances, the first three of which were fairly normal. The fourth one, however, was a disaster. Put into a game against Minnesota with Seattle losing 2-0 in the sixth, Pop allowed seven earned runs in one inning, via two walks and six hits, including two home runs. That gave him an unsightly 13.50 earned run average for the year. He was then designated for assignment and elected free agency.

In his career, Pop has gotten many chances thanks to his intriguing velocity. He averages 96 miles per hour on his sinker, though that has led to more ground balls than strikeouts. In 161 career innings split between the Marlins, Blue Jays and Mariners, he has a 4.75 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 55.2% ground ball rate.

He exhausted his final option year with the Jays last season. The Jays still had some hope of utilizing him in 2025, as they tendered him a contract. He had qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player and the two sides avoided arb by agreeing to a $900K salary for this year.

He stuck on Toronto’s 40-man through the winter but experienced some elbow soreness during camp. The Jays designated him for assignment on Opening Day to open a 40-man spot. Since he was injured at the time, he couldn’t be put on outright waivers, so he was released. That left the Jays on the hook for the majority of that salary, allowing any other club to pay him the prorated version of the minor league minimum for any time spent on the roster.

That led to a minor league deal with the Mariners. During his brief stint on their major league roster, he passed three years of service time, which gave him the right to elect free agency yesterday even though it was his first career outright.

For the Mets, their pitching staff has been hit pretty hard in the past few weeks, so they need all the help they can get. They currently have 12 pitchers on the injured list. Their starting rotation has lost Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning and Paul Blackburn in the past few weeks. They just placed Blackburn and reliever Dedniel Núñez on the IL today, after playing a doubleheader yesterday. Justin Hagenman and Rico Garcia were called up to give the club a couple of fresh arms.

David Peterson is starting tonight’s contest against the Brewers. Tim Britton of The Athletic relays that the club plans to have Hagenman, Frankie Montas and Brandon Waddell start the next three games against the Yankees. After that, the club will get a much-needed day off but it’s going to be a challenge for them to limp through the weekend.

Pop will give them a fresh arm at virtually no cost. As mentioned, he is out of options and would need to be removed from the 40-man if the club wants to remove him from the active roster. If he somehow manages to hold a spot until the end of the year, he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration.

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

Mets Interested In Mitch Keller

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 17:15:52 +0000

The Mets have shown interest in Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. New York joins the Cubs as teams known to be linked to Keller, who placed second on MLBTR’s ranking of the top 40 trade candidates heading into the deadline.

It was just a week ago that the Mets got an up-close look at Keller when he held them to one run over 5 1/3 innings in Pittsburgh’s 9-1 victory over New York on June 27. That outing was part of a nice five-start stretch for Keller that has seen the righty post a 2.40 ERA over his last 30 innings of work. For the season as a whole, Keller has a 3.64 ERA over 106 1/3 innings, delivering both quality and reliability over his regular turns in the Pittsburgh rotation.

This durability likely has particular appeal for a Mets pitching staff that has been hit hard by injuries. Of the five pitchers who have tossed the most innings for New York this season, Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill are on the 15-day injured list, and Griffin Canning recent underwent a season-ending surgery to fix a ruptured Achilles. Sean Manaea has yet to pitch this season due to an oblique strain and then a loose body found in his throwing elbow, but he is scheduled to make his return from the IL before the All-Star break.

Since Senga could also be back within the week, the Mets could roll with a rotation of Senga, Manaea, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, and Frankie Montas through July to see if this starting five is enough to strength the team’s hopes of capturing the NL East and then a World Series title. Given all of the question marks within that group, adding a stable arm like Keller would certainly seem like a logical move to keep the rotation strong for the stretch run.

Beyond the prospect cost of a Keller trade, the Mets would face a particular financial penalty if they were to take on most or all of the right-hander’s remaining contract. Keller is owed the remainder of his $15MM salary for 2025, and is then owed $54.5MM over the course of the 2026-28 seasons. That would put another hefty commitment on the books for a Mets team whose luxury tax number (roughly $326.8MM, as per RosterResource) is well over the maximum tax penalty tier of $301MM.

Some salary offset could be included in any potential trade between the Mets and Pirates, though that would run counter to the Bucs’ desire to shed some payroll by moving Keller in the first place. With so much young pitching either already in Pittsburgh’s rotation or on the cusp of the majors, the thinking has been that the Pirates would move at least one or both of Keller and impending free agent Andrew Heaney in order to add some young talent (probably on the offensive side), create more openings for Triple-A call-ups, and to create financial flexibility.

“There seems to be a line of thinking where if they can get that money off the payroll, it can be used to acquire a hitter,” a source tells Hiles, which perhaps hints at a scenario where the Pirates could then pivot to acquire a somewhat pricey bat (likely a veteran). This would indicate a strategy of both selling and buying at the deadline, with the additions being aimed for either the future or perhaps even the short-term. Despite their 38-51 record, the Pirates haven’t yet fully committed to a full-on sale at the deadline, as the source says that the club’s 6-0 homestand this week might have created some hope that a later surge is possible.

Broadly, the team has played better since Derek Shelton was fired as manager, and interim skipper Don Kelly has led the team to a 26-25 record. Still, the Bucs remain solidly in last place in the NL Central, and it would take a major hot streak just to get to .500, let alone in contention. While Pittsburgh might not be ready to explore trades this early into July, the team remains “one of a few teams expected to sell this trade season,” as Hiles puts it. It is also fair to assume that the budget-conscious Pirates would always be open moving Keller’s contract regardless of their place in the standings, even in the unlikely scenario that the team does catch fire in the weeks leading up to the deadline.

TWF 119 – What’s Fueling Gilbert’s K Rate?

John Ke — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 17:15:28 +0000

The Reds Ring of Flamethrowers!

The post TWF 119 – What’s Fueling Gilbert’s K Rate? appeared first on Pitcher List.

Diamondbacks Activate Corbin Carroll From 10-Day IL

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 16:45:39 +0000

Corbin Carroll is returning to the Diamondbacks’ lineup, as the club announced that the outfielder has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Utilityman Tim Tawa was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Carroll last played on June 18, when he was hit in the left wrist by a pitch from Blue Jays southpaw Justin Bruihl. The result was a chip fracture and a trip to the IL that officially began on June 21, though thankfully, it appears as though Carroll dodged the bullet of a more serious injury. Carroll felt good enough to play in an Arizona Complex League game on Thursday and he took part in a live batting practice session yesterday.

Before he was sidelined, Carroll was enjoying a huge season, and a return to the form he showed in winning NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2023. The 149 wRC+ Carroll has posted through 323 plate appearances this season is indeed even higher than his 132 wRC+ in 2023, and a big step up from his relatively disappointing 107 wRC+ last year. Carroll is hitting .255/.341/.573 with 20 homers and a league-best nine triples this season, also contributing strong baserunning and (in the view of the Outs Above Average metric) plus defensive in right field.

Getting Carroll back so quickly is a huge boost to the Diamondbacks, who remain on the outskirts of the playoff race with a 43-45 record. Arizona is 4.5 games back of the final NL wild card spot with three other teams sitting between the D’Backs and the Padres, who hold that last wild card berth. The Snakes will have to make up some serious ground in July to more properly get themselves into the hunt, and to potentially avoid a significant selloff at the deadline.

The Stash List Week 15: Top 10 Pitching Prospects to Stash in 2025

John Villavicencio — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 16:30:19 +0000

Top 10 pitching prospects to stash in redraft league

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Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball: 7/5 & 7/6 & 7/7

Nick Pollack — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 16:02:01 +0000

Best SP streamers and rankings for today & tomorrow & day after.

The post Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball: 7/5 & 7/6 & 7/7 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Dodgers Release Luis Garcia

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 15:51:50 +0000

The Dodgers have released Luis Garcia, according to the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page. Garcia was designated for assignment last week and (upon clearing waivers) had the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, though L.A. streamlined that process by parting ways with the 38-year-old.

Signed to a minor league contract this past winter, Garcia made the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, and posted a 5.27 ERA over 27 1/3 innings with the club. The righty’s 4.25 SIERA was more respectable, as Garcia’s sky-high .388 BABIP greatly hampered his grounder-heavy approach. Bad batted-ball luck notwithstanding, Garcia also hurt himself by allowing a lot of hard contact, and walking batters at a 12.7% rate. That elevated walk rate was an unwelcome return to the control problems Garcia faced earlier in his career, though he had seemingly harnessed his control by posting a more palatable 7% walk rate from 2021-24.

Garcia missed about a month of the season due to an adductor strain, and made two final appearances for Los Angeles before he was DFA’ed. The 13-year veteran will now be changing addresses yet again after already pitching for seven different teams at the big league level over his lengthy career. This long track record figures to get Garcia another look from some team on a minors deal, and the reliever was still posting quality results as recently as the first half of 2024, before the deadline trade that sent Garcia from the Angels to the Red Sox.

If Garcia indeed signs elsewhere, new team would only owe him the MLB minimum salary for any time spent in the majors. That money would be subtracted from the remainder of Garcia’s $1.5MM salary for the 2025 season, which will be otherwise covered by the Dodgers.

Deep League Waiver Wire: Pitchers

Ben Rosener — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 15:30:24 +0000

These pitchers can bring added value in deeper leagues.

The post Deep League Waiver Wire: Pitchers appeared first on Pitcher List.

Catchers to Stream: Week 15

Mitch Steinberg — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 15:15:49 +0000

Catcher news and streamer options for Week 15.

The post Catchers to Stream: Week 15 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Phillies Interested In Dennis Santana, David Bednar

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 14:58:30 +0000

It is no secret that the Phillies are looking to bolster their relief corps before the trade deadline, and to that end, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Phils have asked the Pirates about relievers Dennis Santana and David Bednar. Santana has been of interest to Philadelphia “for quite some time,” Hiles writes, though Bednar’s recent strong play has also gotten him onto the NL East team’s radar. Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan radio first mentioned the Phillies’ interest in Santana and Bednar last week, and noted that Philadelphia could look to acquire both relievers in a single trade.

MLBTR’s ranking of the top 40 trade deadline candidates features Bednar (3rd) and Santana (9th) both in prominent positions, speaking to both their impressive performances in 2025, the likelihood that the Pirates will indeed be deadline sellers, and the simple fact that basically every contender could use some bullpen help. The two right-handers are both scheduled to enter free agency after the 2026 season, so that extra year of arbitration control figures to up the Pirates’ asking price for either pitcher.

Santana’s rise from journeyman reliever to bullpen ace has been remarkable, as it was barely over a year ago that the Bucs claimed Santana off waivers from the Yankees in a transaction that drew little notice. After posting uninspiring numbers with four teams over parts of seven MLB seasons, Santana suddenly blossomed in Pittsburgh, with a 1.99 ERA, 25.16% strikeout rate, and 5.8% walk rate in 81 1/3 innings in a Pirates uniform. Santana has certainly been aided by a .206 BABIP this season since his 3.52 SIERA is over two runs higher than his 1.46 ERA, but Santana’s underlying metrics (particularly his walk rate and elite hard-contact rate) indicate that his success is no fluke.

Santana has mostly worked in a set-up role but briefly served as Pittsburgh’s closer when Bednar was optioned to Triple-A at the start of April. Between his struggles in 2024 and his early stumbles this year, Bednar looked miles removed from his past All-Star form, yet his brief stint in the minors got his career back on track. Bednar has a sparkling 1.88 ERA over the 28 2/3 innings since his recall, and his 34.7% strikeout rate is one of the best in baseball. On the other end of the batted-ball coin, Bednar had achieved this success despite a .343 BABIP, and his 2.27 SIERA is even lower than his full-season 2.73 ERA.

Either Bednar or Santana would be obvious upgrades for a Phillies team that ranks 24th of 30 teams in bullpen ERA (4.41). Closer Jordan Romano has somewhat righted the ship after some major early-season struggles but isn’t the most reliable of late-inning options, while Jose Alvarado won’t be back from his 80-game PED suspension until August (and of course Alvarado isn’t eligible for postseason play). Since Philadelphia has one of the sport’s best rotations and the lineup is still as dangerous as ever, a sturdier bullpen may be the final piece the Phillies need to finally break through for the club’s first World Series title since 2008.

Considering how the bullpen has been a constant target area for a few years now, landing controllable relievers like Santana or Bednar would help the Phillies address the issue beyond just this season. Last season’s deadline saw the Phillies acquire impending free agent Carlos Estevez to strengthen the pen, yet after Estevez left to sign with the Royals, Philadelphia was somewhat left back at square one.

Bednar is the pricier of the two pitchers, as he is set to earn the remainder of his $5.9MM salary in 2025 before earning a raise in his final arb year. Santana lost an arbitration hearing to the Pirates in February and thus earned a $1.4MM salary for 2025, making him quite the bargain given his production. This lower price tag could be one of the reasons why the Phillies (and surely other teams) have particular interest in Santana’s services. Because the Phillies are projected to be over the highest luxury-tax tier and this is their fourth year as tax-payors, any adds will come at over double the financial cost, given the associated 110% tax rate.

MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 7/5/2025

Scott Appleman — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 14:15:07 +0000

MLB in its Cal Raleigh Era; Cubs' record fireworks show

The post MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 7/5/2025 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Mets Notes: Butto, Senga, Megill

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 14:01:59 +0000

The Mets placed right-hander Jose Butto on the 15-day injured list on Friday, with a retroactive placement date of July 1. Right-hander Chris Devenski was called up from Triple-A to take Butto’s spot on the active roster. Butto is dealing with an undisclosed illness, and manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including the New York Post’s Mike Puma) that the club expects to activate the righty for the first game back after the All-Star break.

Now in his fourth season in New York, Butto has been used as a full-time reliever for the first time in his MLB career and the bottom-line results have been solid. He has a 2.47 ERA over 43 2/3 innings and 31 appearances, albeit with a troublesome 11.2% walk rate and a 21.8% strikeout rate that is also below the league average. Butto’s 4.01 SIERA reflects the sizeable gap between his actual performance and expected performance, though he does have a strong 49.6% grounder rate, and very good chase and whiff rates despite his relative lack of strikeouts.

While Butto’s illness doesn’t appear to be too serious, his absence creates yet another hole in the Mets’ injury-riddled pitching staff. The Amazins now have 13 different pitchers on their IL, ranging from relatively minor situations like Butto to multiple hurlers who have been out for extended periods of time, or won’t pitch again in 2025.

One of the biggest names on the IL might be nearing a return, as Kodai Senga is slated to pitch for Double-A Binghampton in a rehab outing today. Senga hasn’t pitched since June 12, when a right hamstring strain cut short a start against the Nationals. Since it was just a Grade 1 strain, however, the Mets were optimistic that Senga wouldn’t miss too much time, and it is possible Senga might need just the one rehab outing before rejoining the big league rotation.

After injuries sidelined Senga for almost all of the 2024 season, he has returned in good form this year, posting a 1.47 ERA over 13 starts and 73 2/3 innings. A 4.14 SIERA reveals that Senga isn’t nearly as dominant as his ERA suggests, though his Statcast numbers are generally above average apart a 10.6% walk rate is only in the 17th percentile of all pitchers. Nonetheless, Senga’s relatively quick return is a huge boost to a Mets rotation that has been short-handed by injuries all season, let alone this second wave of health woes that have hit the staff in the last couple of weeks.

Tylor Megill was one of those most recent absences, as the right-hander hit the 15-day IL in mid-June due to an elbow sprain. Despite the ominous nature of such injuries, Megill said at the time of the IL placement that he was only dealing with inflammation, and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo wrote yesterday that a recent MRI showed that the inflammation had decreased to the point that Megill can resume throwing.

Since Megill has been shut down for three weeks, he’ll begin with some light work throwing off flat ground today, but the hope is that he won’t take too long to fully ramp up to starting readiness. Megill has a 3.95 ERA/3.61 SIERA in 68 1/3 innings and 14 starts for New York this season, with an outstanding 29.2% strikeout rate that helps cover for a subpar 10.8% walk rate.

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks: 7/5

Ryan Clark — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 14:00:29 +0000

Here are today's players on waivers to consider

The post Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Picks: 7/5 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Starts and Sits - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball (June 30 - July 6)

Nick Mariano — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 13:40:12 +0000

The temperatures are rising, but that won't stop us from staying cool on the bump with our starting pitcher starts/sits for fantasy baseball Week 14 - Monday, June 30 through Sunday, July 6. This column provides readers with who is pitching, the opponent, and a confidence/startability score based on a plethora of metrics. Keep us bookmarked […]

Are You For Real? Surprising Fantasy Baseball Hitters Surging Including Caleb Durbin, Nick Gonzales, Joey Ortiz, Jake Mangum

Tommy Bell — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 13:30:03 +0000

Last week, Thunder Dan expanded our awesome "Are You For Real" starting pitcher series, originally penned by Elliott Baas, and instead shed some light on a handful of lesser-rostered hitters who have been hot of late. This week, yours truly will be doing the same. In Elliott's original series, he examines three pitchers who posted […]

Billy Hunter Passes Away

Mark Polishuk — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 13:20:41 +0000

Former big league player, coach, and manager Billy Hunter passed away at age 97 earlier this week, the Orioles announced. Long associated with the Orioles organization for most of his career, Hunter was the last surviving player who played for both the St. Louis Browns (the Orioles’ previous incarnation) and for the franchise’s first season in Baltimore in 1954.

A veteran of six MLB seasons overall, Hunter made his big league debut with the Browns in 1953 and was an All-Star as a rookie, quickly gaining notice for his strong glovework at shortstop. Following the now-Orioles’ 1954 debut season, the club included Hunter as part of the largest trade ever in terms of pure volume — a 17-player swap between the Orioles and Yankees that sent Hunter to the Bronx as part of a trade package that also included future Cy Young Award winner Bob Turley and World Series perfect game hero Don Larsen.

Hunter saw a good chunk of playing time at shortstop in 1955, but the Yankees went with longtime shortstop Phil Rizzuto down the stretch and into the postseason. Shifted into more of a clear backup role in 1956, Hunter nevertheless earned a ring for his contributions to the Yankees’ championship season, though he didn’t see any action during the 1956 World Series. New York then sent Hunter to the Athletics that offseason as part of another gigantic deal, this time a 14-player swap that saw such notables as Clete Boyer, Bobby Shantz, and Art Ditmar head to the Yankees. Hunter spent parts of the 1957 and 1858 seasons with the A’s, and finished his Major League career with 76 games with the Indians in 1958.

After a year of minor league ball, Hunter transitioned into a scouting role, and then worked as a minor league manager in the Orioles’ farm system. This work led to a job as Baltimore’s third base coach, a role Hunter held from 1964-77. He left the coaching staff in June 1977 to become the Rangers’ new manager, and Texas promptly went 60-33 with Hunter in the dugout. Though the Rangers still won 87 games in 1978, Hunter was fired before the final day of the regular season. That was his last gig in pro baseball, as Hunter went onto become a baseball coach and then athletic director at Towson State University.

Hunter appeared in 630 career games and hit .219/.264/.294 over 2052 plate appearances in the majors. His career resume includes that first-year All-Star nod, as well as three World Series titles — his 1956 ring with the Yankees, and two as a coach with Baltimore in 1966 and 70. The Orioles inducted Hunter into their franchise Hall of Fame in 1996.

We at MLB Trade Rumors sent our condolences to Hunter’s family, friends, and loved ones.

Padres Outright Logan Gillaspie

Steve Adams — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 12:04:20 +0000

TODAY: Gillaspie cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A El Paso earlier this week, the Padres announced. Gillaspie made the start for El Paso in yesterday’s game.

JUNE 30: The Padres announced Monday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Logan Gillaspie from the 15-day injured list. Rather than add the out-of-options righty back to the active roster, San Diego has designated him for assignment.

Gillaspie, 28, has been out since late April due to an oblique injury. He appeared in three games for the Friars in 2025, tossing seven innings and holding opponents to just two runs. He did so with matching 12.9% strikeout and walk rates, however, and gave up quite a bit of loud contact along the way (92.1 mph average exit velocity, 45.5% hard-hit rate).

This is the fourth straight season in which Gillaspie has logged at least some big league time. He’s pitched a total of 44 2/3 MLB frames between the Orioles and Padres, logging a combined 4.63 earned run average with a 14.5% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 35.7% ground-ball rate. Gillaspie has averaged 95.1 mph on his four-seamer in his career (94.7 mph in 2025) and typically pairs the pitch with an 83-84 mph slider, an 87-88 mph changeup and an 82-83 mph curveball (in descending order of use). At least in his brief three-inning look this year, he’d also begun to mix in a cutter that sat 91.5 mph.

Gillaspie has worked exclusively as a reliever ever since reaching High-A. Originally signed by the Brewers as an undrafted free agent, he’s now pitched in in four Triple-A seasons as well, logging a 4.37 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate in 129 2/3 innings. The Padres can trade Gillaspie or place him on waivers at any point in the next five days. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so his DFA will be resolved within a week’s time. Since Gillaspie has never been outrighted and doesn’t have three years of big league service, he’ll stick with the organization as a depth arm in Triple-A if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

Daily Fantasy Baseball News and Notes | First Pitch 7/5/25

Trevor Hooth — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 08:00:02 +0000

Everything you need to know to win your fantasy baseball league, daily

The post Daily Fantasy Baseball News and Notes | First Pitch 7/5/25 appeared first on Pitcher List.

FBB 025 – Trade Deadline Targets

Dave Funnell — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 05:00:01 +0000

FBB 025 - Trade Deadline Targets

The post FBB 025 – Trade Deadline Targets appeared first on Pitcher List.

Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

Steve Adams — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 04:56:46 +0000

We’ve hit July and are less than a month from the trade deadline, so it’s an appropriate time for MLBTR’s first pass at which players could be on the move. While we’ve probably already seen the year’s biggest trade with the Rafael Devers stunner, the number of teams on the postseason bubble will make the next few weeks particularly interesting. Trade volume tends not to ramp up until the second half of the month — both to allow fringe contenders more time to evaluate their playoff chances and because clubs primarily remain focused on the July 13-14 amateur draft.

As is the case for all our trade candidate lists, we’re trying to strike a balance between the player’s appeal and the likelihood that they’ll move. This isn’t purely a ranking of trade value or talent. There are players in the back half of the list who’d vault to the top if it were clear that they’d be moved. It’s an inherently subjective exercise.

This is a league-wide summary, but we’re also drilling down more specifically into each team with our new Deadline Outlook series for Front Office subscribers. We’ve already covered most of the clear buyers and sellers in that series and will continue checking off the bubble teams over the next couple weeks.

With that out of the way, onto the list! We’ll update and quite likely expand the rankings at least once or twice as the deadline draws near.

Stats are through play on July 2.

1. Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Marlins ($17MM in 2025; $17MM in 2026, $21MM club option/$2MM buyout for 2027)

As a former Cy Young winner signed affordably on a rebuilding team that traded a dozen players last July, Alcantara has stood as the most prominent and obvious trade candidate for much of the season. A few factors have gummed the situation up more than expected. First and foremost, Alcantara not only hasn’t looked like his former self for much of the season — he simply hasn’t been a very good pitcher. The velocity is still strong, but Alcantara carried an 8.47 ERA into the month of June. His strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates all went in the wrong direction, relative to past levels.

Alcantara looked to be righting the ship when he rattled off four starts/23 innings with a 2.74 ERA and improved rate stats. He followed that encouraging stretch with a seven-run shellacking at the hands of the D-backs. Now, on top of his inconsistency, Miami recently won eight straight games. The Fish are still seven under .500, but they’ve graduated from “surefire seller” to merely “likely seller.” Alcantara is simultaneously the most talented and enigmatic pitcher on this list.

2. Mitch Keller, RHP, Pirates ($15MM in 2025; $16.5MM in 2026, $18MM in 2027, $20MM in 2028)

A steady, mid-rotation workhorse who’s signed to a reasonable contract, Keller’s name has come up in connection to the Cubs and will surely garner interest from virtually every pitching-hungry team on the market. He’s working with a diminished strikeout rate this season but has missed more bats over the past two months (20.3 K%) than he did early in the year (16.8 K% through May 2).

The Pirates don’t need to move Keller, but they’re deep in young pitching and thin on young, impact position players. Flipping Keller for an interesting bat(s) and then reallocating his salary to a mid-range free agent has some merits. If the Pirates do move him, they’ll probably be seeking MLB-ready help, as the current front office regime is in year six of an increasingly interminable rebuilding process.

3. David Bednar, RHP, Pirates ($5.9MM in 2025, arbitration-eligible through 2026)

Bednar struggled in 2024, then pitched so poorly to begin the 2025 season that the Pirates optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. A few weeks later, he was back on the big league roster and back to peak form. Since his mid-April recall, Bednar has pitched 28 2/3 innings with a 1.88 ERA, a mammoth 36.6% strikeout rate and a 6.3% walk rate. He’s going to get a raise to the $8-10MM range in his final arbitration year, and the Pirates would probably prefer not to pay that, even for a hometown fan favorite. Ownership has reportedly intervened in past Bednar trade talks, but that doesn’t seem likely to be the case this time around — not in the wake of his roller-coaster calendar year and with just one additional (and expensive) season of club control remaining.

4. Ryan O’Hearn, 1B/DH, Orioles ($8MM in 2025, free agent at season’s end)

O’Hearn has gotten better every year since being traded to Baltimore in 2023 and now stands as one of the best bats not just on this list but in the entire American League. He’s hitting .295/.383/.471 (44% better than average, per wRC+) with 11 homers, 10 doubles, an 11% walk rate and just a 16.3% strikeout rate. O’Hearn is far better against righties than lefties. A contender with a righty-hitting platoon option could benefit greatly from plugging O’Hearn into the heart of its order.

5. Andrew Heaney, LHP, Pirates ($5.25MM in 2025, free agent at season’s end)

In 2022, it was Tyler Anderson. In 2023, it was Rich Hill. In 2024, Martin Perez. This year’s veteran Pirates lefty du jour is the 34-year-old Heaney, who’s been an effective innings eater at the back of their rotation. Heaney’s velocity, strikeout rate and swinging-strike rate are all down relative to recent years, but he’s a veteran lefty who can solidify the fourth or fifth spot in a contender’s rotation before moving to the bullpen in the postseason. The Bucs have scaled back his slider usage and have Heaney throwing a sinker more frequently, so perhaps another club thinks that there’s more upside to miss bats if he reverts to his former usage rates. Heaney posted a 12% swinging-strike rate and fanned 23% of his opponents just last year in Texas.

6. Ryan McMahon, 3B, Rockies ($12MM in 2025; $16MM annually in 2026-27)

The Rockies tend to resist selling their best players, particularly when they have multiple years of club control remaining. McMahon is no exception. They passed on truly making him available last year despite interest, then watched as McMahon torched his trade value over the remainder of the season and in the early portion of 2025.

McMahon got hot in early May, however, and while he’s slumped a bit over the past couple weeks, he looks a lot like the classic version of himself. Dating back to May 1, he’s slashing .258/.349/.478 with 10 homers, nine doubles and a triple. His strikeout rate in that span is almost 30%, but contact has long been an issue for the 30-year-old, so that’s nothing new. This looks like vintage McMahon — 20-homer pop with plus defense at the hot corner and plenty of strikeouts. We can never accurately predict what the Rockies will do, but if their current 37-win pace can’t convince them a change in approach is needed, perhaps nothing will. McMahon should be available this time around, and Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported yesterday that the Rox are more willing to listen than they have been previously.

7. Jeffrey Springs, LHP, Athletics ($10.5MM annually in 2025-26; $15MM club option/$750K buyout for 2027)

The A’s traded for Springs over the winter, hoping they were buying low on a lefty who looked to have a quiet breakout with the 2022-23 Rays before blowing out his elbow. Instead, he’s pitched like a fourth starter. Springs’ velocity is down a mile per hour, and his strikeout and walk rates have both trended the wrong way since returning from surgery. He’s sitting on a 4.30 ERA but has looked better of late. Even if he’s only a fourth starter, his contract isn’t bad, and there could be upside for better performance as he further distances himself from surgery.

8. Cedric Mullins, OF, Orioles ($8.725MM in 2025, free agent at season’s end)

Mullins had a huge April but is hitting just .171/.215/.336 in 164 plate appearances since that time. His season-long batting line is down to right about league average. Mullins’ defensive ratings have dipped in recent years, but he’s one of the few center field options who could feasibly be on the trade market this summer. He entered the season as a pretty clear qualifying offer candidate, but if his current struggles continue, the O’s might not chance that — which only makes the notion of a trade more compelling.

9. Dennis Santana, RHP, Pirates ($1.4MM in 2025, arb-eligible through 2026)

When the Pirates claimed Santana last June, few took notice. Jokes were made. Santana was a journeyman right-hander who’d ping-ponged around the league. The Pirates were looking to emerge from a lengthy rebuild and plucked a cheap power arm with an inconsistent track record off waivers.

Pittsburgh’s claim of Santana is a reminder that we never really know how even the most mundane transaction will pan out in this game. Since landing with the Pirates, Santana has pitched 80 2/3 innings with a 2.02 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 41.3% ground-ball rate. He’s averaging 95.2 mph on his heater and proving near impossible to square up (86.1 mph average exit velocity, 4.3% barrel rate, 29.8% hard-hit rate). His lack of track record kept his arbitration price tag low. Santana now looks like a quality high-leverage arm whose salary amounts to relative peanuts. He has another season of club control remaining and probably won’t top $4MM. Nearly any bullpen-needy team would be happy to have him, and since he’s effectively found money with minimal control remaining, the Pirates should be more than willing to move him.

10. Jake Bird, RHP, Rockies (pre-arbitration in 2025, arb-eligible through 2028)

Bird has worked to change the shape and speed of his slider in recent years, and he’s now throwing it more than either his sinker or curveball. The result is 48 innings with a terrific 2.63 ERA (2.96 SIERA). Bird has whiffed 29.1% of his opponents against a 9.5% walk rate. He’s “only” averaging 94.3 mph on his sinker, so he’s not necessarily a power arm by today’s standards, but he’s been extremely effective. Bird won’t reach arbitration until this offseason and is under club control through 2028. This is precisely the type of player the Rockies have resisted trading at peak value in the past. Will they change direction this time around? They should, given both the state of the organization and the fact that relief pitchers are notoriously volatile.

11. Seth Lugo, RHP, Royals ($15MM in 2025; $15MM player option for 2026)

Lugo would have a case for the #1 spot on the list if he were a lock to be traded. He’s coming off a Cy Young runner-up finish and carries a 2.21 ERA through 15 starts this year. While he doesn’t have huge swing-and-miss stuff, he has proven capable of excelling as a starter and would fit well as the #2 or #3 pitcher in a postseason rotation. The Royals are hopeful of avoiding a sale, but they’ve dropped six games below .500 after a terrible June and are running out of time to get back on track.

The contract structure is the complicating factor. Lugo’s $15MM salary is a bargain for a pitcher of his caliber. He has a matching player option for 2026 that he’d almost certainly decline so long as he finishes this year healthy. That’s pure downside for an acquiring team, though. If Lugo gets injured in the final two months, they’re stuck paying that. He’d otherwise be able to walk next winter. Teams tend to be reluctant to acquire players whose deals have opt-out clauses, but there’ll be such a demand for starting pitching that someone should be willing to roll the dice and hope he stays healthy. They’ll want to price that downside into whatever they offer the Royals, which could make it tricky to find an agreeable prospect package.

12. Marcell Ozuna, DH, Braves ($16MM in 2025, free agent at season’s end)

It doesn’t seem as though the Braves will be all that keen on trading players controlled beyond the season, but Ozuna is a free agent who can’t be tendered a qualifying offer because he already received one earlier in his career. The 34-year-old slugger’s power output is down this year, but he’s still ripped 11 homers en route to a .242/.370/.389 batting line (116 wRC+). This year’s 16.7% walk rate is a career best, and Ozuna’s batted-ball metrics on Statcast remain excellent.

13. Michael Soroka, RHP, Nationals ($9MM in 2025, free agent at season’s end)

Soroka signed a one-year, $9MM free agent contract to work out of Washington’s rotation. He missed a month early in the season with a biceps strain but has been healthy since the second week of May. A 4.70 ERA through 59 2/3 innings isn’t eye-opening, but he’s striking out more than 26% of opponents. Soroka posted big strikeout numbers in a relief role for the White Sox late last season, so he could be a target for teams seeking rotation or bullpen help.

14. Germán Márquez, RHP, Rockies ($10MM in 2025, free agent at season’s end)

After an ugly start to his season, Márquez is back on track. He’s held opponents to a 2.70 ERA over his past eight starts — a sample of 43 1/3 innings — although that includes six unearned runs at the hands of the Dodgers on June 24. He’s fanned 20.9% of his opponents and issued walks at a sharp 5.8% clip in that time. Márquez isn’t missing as many bats, generating as many grounders or throwing quite as hard as he did at his peak, but he’s an affordable 30-year-old righty with a nice track record who could potentially benefit from finally getting out of Coors Field. At his best, in 2018, Márquez posted a 3.77 ERA (3.10 SIERA) and fanned more than 28% of his opponents. He’s probably not going to get back to that level, but there’s some track record and a bit of upside here.

15. Aaron Civale, RHP, White Sox ($8MM in 2025, free agent at season’s end; Brewers covering portion of the salary)

Civale was bounced from the Brewers’ rotation earlier this summer when they called up top prospect Jacob Misiorowski. Given that he’s a career-long starter and impending free agent, he requested a trade, and the Brewers/White Sox accommodated him. The South Siders are surely hoping to be able to flip Civale for more than they gave up (non-tender candidate Andrew Vaughn). He’s been a passable if unspectacular rotation option since returning from an early IL stint, logging a 3.86 ERA, 17.5% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate in seven starts (35 innings). A team just looking for a competent starter to keep them in the game every fifth day could flip a nominal prospect to the White Sox to get something done.

16. Adrian Houser, RHP, White Sox ($1.35MM in 2025, free agent at season’s end)

Speaking of White Sox starters and nominal returns, Houser has done well to rebuild some value after a brutal season with the Mets. The longtime Brewers hurler signed a big league deal in late May after being granted his release by the Rangers. He’s responded with seven starts and 42 2/3 innings of 1.90 ERA ball. Houser’s 18.1% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 46.8% grounder rate don’t support that success, which is propped up by a sky-high 87% strand rate that he won’t sustain. That said, he’s averaging a career-best 95 mph on his four-seamer and getting good results on a curveball he’s throwing at a career-high clip, so there are some tangible changes to support an ERA in the low 4.00s.

17. Jesus Sanchez, OF, Marlins ($4.5MM in 2025, arb-eligible through 2027)

At $4.5MM, Sanchez is the highest-paid position player on Miami’s roster (not count

Orioles Outright Matt Bowman, Emmanuel Rivera

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 04:38:26 +0000

The Orioles announced today that right-hander Matt Bowman and infielder Emmanuel Rivera have cleared outright waivers and accepted assignments to Triple-A Norfolk. Both players had been designated for assignment in recent days.

Bowman, 34, signed a minor league deal with the club in December. Since then, he has bounced on and off the club’s roster. Four times this year, he has been selected to the roster, designated for assignment, cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to the Tides.

Around those transactions, he has thrown 23 1/3 innings for the O’s with a 5.79 earned run average, 15.7% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 34.6% ground ball rate. For his career, he now has 239 1/3 big league innings under his belt with a 4.32 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 52.4% ground ball rate.

The constant shuttling might be unwelcome for some but it appears Bowman is content with his relationship with the Orioles, as he has the right to reject outright assignments but hasn’t done so this year. The O’s seem likely to be deadline sellers later this month and have a number of trade candidates on their pitching staff, so perhaps Bowman can get a more stable role in the final two months of the schedule.

Rivera, 29, has between three and five years of major league service time. That means he has the right to reject an outright assignment but would have to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to do exercise that right. He and the club avoided arbitration in the winter by agreeing to a $1MM salary.

The combination of that contractual situation and his out-of-options status has led to him also bouncing on and off the Baltimore roster, with this being his third outright of the year. Around those transactions, he has posted a .229 /299/.271 batting line while providing solid defense at third base, along with occasional appearances at the other infield corner.

Similar to Bowman, he could get more regular playing time down the stretch. The O’s could perhaps move corner infielders like Ryan O’Hearn, Ryan Mountcastle and/or Ramón Urías in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of Reggie Hildred, Imagn Images

Cubs Sign Ryan Jensen To Minor League Deal

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 04:11:45 +0000

The Cubs have signed right-hander Ryan Jensen to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been in the Twins’ system but was released a little over a week ago. The Cubs also released right-hander Phil Bickford, according to his tracker.

Jensen, 27, was a first-round pick of the Cubs back in 2019. On his way up the minor league ladder, significant control problems seemed to get in his way. From 2019 to 2022, he tossed 151 2/3 minor league innings with a 4.04 earned run average. He struck out 26.3% of batters faced and got ground balls on more than half the balls in play he allowed but he also gave out walks at a 13.1% pace.

Despite the control problems, the Cubs gave him a 40-man spot in November of 2022, not wanting him to be plucked in the Rule 5 draft. Less than a year later, he was on the waiver wire, getting claimed by the Mariners. He would subsequently go to the Marlins and Twins, also on waiver claims, until the Twins passed him through waivers in February of last year.

Along the way, the control problems haven’t improved. From the start of 2023 to the present, he has thrown 149 2/3 minor league innings with a 5.35 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate and plenty of ground balls but an 18.3% walk rate. The Twins have apparently given up but his original organization will take a flier and see what happens.

Bickford, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason. He may have triggered an opt-out in that deal because he has been dominant this year. He has thrown 27 2/3 innings for Triple-A Iowa with a 2.60 ERA, 34% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate.

He also has some good major league work on his track record. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he tossed 112 1/3 innings in the big leagues with a 3.85 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. In 2023, he was still getting punchouts but his walk rate spiked to 12.8%. Last year, he only got a brief MLB look, which didn’t go well. He tossed 8 1/3 innings for the Yankees with an 8.64 ERA.

Photo courtesy of Chris Tilley, Imagn Images

Yankees Sign Joel Kuhnel To Minors Deal

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 03:24:37 +0000

The Yankees announced today that right-hander Geoff Hartlieb elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. Because he has been previously outrighted in his career, he has the right to reject all future outright assignments. The Yankees also added an arm, signing right-hander Joel Kuhnel to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was with the Phillies on a minor league deal but was released yesterday.

Hartlieb, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Yanks in the offseason. He was selected to the roster on Monday and designated for assignment on Wednesday. In between, he tossed one inning against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, allowing three earned runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three. He is out of options so the Yankees effectively had to designate him for assignment in order to remove him from active roster while making space for a fresh arm.

That was a rough outing but he was in good form in the minors prior to getting called up. He tossed 35 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a 3.34 earned run average, 26.2% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 41.3% ground ball rate.

He also has some previous big league work on his résumé, though it’s not especially sparkling, as he has a 7.62 ERA in 80 1/3 innings. His 48% ground ball rate is strong but his 20.3% strikeout rate and 14.9% walk rate are both subpar figures, particularly the latter. He’ll head to the open market and see what kind of opportunities are out there for him.

Kuhnel, 30, may have triggered an opt-out provision in his deal with the Phils because he has been putting up good numbers this year. In 32 1/3 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, he had a 3.62 ERA. His 20.6% strikeout rate was a bit below average but his 3.1% walk rate was tiny and he got ground balls on a huge 66.3% of balls in play.

That’s generally been Kuhnel’s recipe. In 93 2/3 big league innings in his career, he has only struck out 18.7% of batters faced but has limited walks to a 5.9% pace and gotten opponents to pound the ball into the ground at a 52% clip. That’s led to a 5.86 ERA but his .311 batting average on balls in play and 63.8% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side. His 4.46 FIP and 3.77 SIERA paint him in a more favorable light.

The Yankees love groundballers and, as the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. Kuhnel has been assigned to the RailRiders and will try to work his way onto the big league roster.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Yohan Ramírez Opts Out Of Pirates Deal

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 02:46:09 +0000

The Pirates have released right-handers Yohan Ramírez and Peter Strzelecki, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Gorman adds that Ramírez triggered a release clause in his contract.

Ramírez, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Bucs in the offseason. He has been putting up good numbers this year, so it’s understandable that he triggered his release clause. He has thrown 29 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis with a 3.41 earned run average. His 28.2% strikeout rate and 52.9% ground ball rate are both well above average, while his 8.4% walk rate is right around par.

Despite that solid work, the Pirates didn’t call him up. He’ll head to the open market to see what other opportunities are out there for him. In addition to his recent minor league numbers, he has some decent major league work on his track record. He threw 169 innings for various clubs over the previous five seasons with a 4.58 ERA, 22.8% strikeout rate, 11.3% walk rate and 44.6% ground ball rate.

Other clubs around the league have shown interest in him in the past. He exhausted his final option year in 2023, which led to him getting passed around the league. He went to the White Sox, Mets, Orioles, Mets again, Dodgers and Red Sox from September 2023 to July of 2024 via waiver claims or small trades. He eventually cleared waivers late last year and was able to elect free agency at season’s end, which led to his deal with the Bucs. Based on all of that previous interest, his phone could be ringing in the coming days.

As for Strzelecki, 30, his case seems to be more of a straightforward release. Outrighted off the big league roster in March, he has posted a 9.90 ERA in 20 Triple-A innings this year. A tiny 43.5% strand rate played a role there but he also had subpar strikeout and walk rates of 14.7% and 11.8% respectively.

That’s a small sample size and he has some decent big league numbers in his past as well. He logged 83 2/3 innings over the past three seasons with a 3.44 ERA, 24% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. His poor form in 2025 will naturally tamp down interest but perhaps there’s a club out there that feels there’s a way to get him back on track.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Red Sox Notes: Anthony, Yoshida, Bregman

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 02:04:12 +0000

There has been a lot of extension speculation surrounding Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony but he tells Rob Bradford of WEEI that no real progress has been made on that front. “There hasn’t even been a single peep about it since I’ve been here,” Anthony said. He also said “both sides have handled that well in terms of just letting me go and play.”

The Sox came into the year with three top prospects in Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. There were extension rumors surrounding all three in the winter and Campbell eventually did put pen to paper, signing an eight-year, $60MM deal in early April.

A deal for Anthony might be a bit trickier than one for Campbell, as he is two years younger and was more of a highly-touted prospect on his way up the ladder. Anthony is currently only 21 years old. If he stays up in the minor leagues for good, he’s slated for free agency after the 2031 season, which will be his age-27 campaign.

That gives him a tremendous amount of earning power down the line, if he is able to develop as hoped. He has only hit .219/.345/.356 so far, but in a tiny sample of 87 plate appearances. If the Sox have faith in his ability to hit his ceiling, they will be motivated to lock him down as soon as possible. Otherwise, his earning power will only increase as he gets more established and closer to arbitration and free agency.

Though from the perspective of Anthony and his representatives, they surely see a path to a healthy free agent market a few years down the line and would need strong motivation to give up on that. For now, based on Anthony’s comments, it seems he’s primarily focused on his gameplay. Perhaps there will be more of a focus on contract talks in the offseason.

Elsewhere in news surrounding the Red Sox, Masataka Yoshida started a rehab assignment yesterday as he looks to finally return from ongoing shoulder problems. Part of that rehab appears to be some first base drills, though manager Álex Cora downplayed the significance of that work.

Per Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Cora framed the work as mostly Yoshida preparing for an emergency. “I don’t anticipate him starting at first base,” said Cora, “but if something crazy happens, at least he can catch throws and knock down a ground ball.”

Yoshida has only played the outfield in his career, both in North America and in Japan. However, the Sox currently have a fairly crowded mix on the grass consisting of Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Rob Refsnyder. Meanwhile, the club has been trying all sorts of things at first base since the Triston Casas injury. Rafael Devers didn’t want to play there, which led to his trade to San Francisco. Utility players Abraham Toro and Romy González have been splitting the time at first lately.

That gives some logic to having Yoshida get some work there. It also aligns with his injury, as he has largely been able to hit this year, but throwing has been the problem. With Devers having been in the designated hitter spot for much of the year, the inability to throw essentially made Yoshida unrosterable. Now that Devers is gone and Yoshida is getting healthy, he’s not quite as blocked from playing time as before, but adding first base to his repertoire still makes sense.

Speaking of roster shuffling, third baseman Alex Bregman could be back from the injured list soon. Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Cora hopes Bregman can return in the club’s homestand prior to the All-Star break, which goes from this Monday to next Sunday. Mayer has largely been covering that spot recently, so he could get moved to second base when Bregman returns. Campbell has been optioned to the minors, leaving David Hamilton at the keystone most nights. Hamilton is hitting just .174/.215/.278 this year, so he should get bumped to the bench or the minors.

Bregman was having a great season before a quad strain sent him to the IL, having hit .299/.385/.553 for a wRC+ of 158. That made him very likely to trigger his opt-out at the end of this season and return to free agency. If he can pick up where he left off, he would provide a big boost to the Boston lineup and also get back on track for triggering that opt out.

His contract situation has led to recent speculation in two different directions. With his looming potential return to free agency, there has been a bit of smoke on the trade front, while it also seems possible that the Sox could use some of the money saved in the Devers trade to lock up Bregman for the long term. They are currently 44-45 and 2.5 games back of a playoff spot.

Photo courtesy of Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images

Cardinals Front Office Expects Ownership Support At Deadline

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 01:27:59 +0000

With the deadline less than a month away, the Cardinals will have to make some decisions about their plans. If they decide to be buyers, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak expects ownership to support that. “I do think ownership, if they saw we were in a spot and it made sense to do something, I think they’d support it,” Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Mozeliak elaborated that he hasn’t done a “deep dive” into how ticket sales and the club’s broadcast deal have impacted things, but he expects ownership to invest in a contending club.

The Cards went into the most recent offseason looking to transition into a new era. The club struggled to compete in 2023 and 2024 and their broadcast revenue was going to drop in 2025. The plan was to shift focus away from investing in the big league roster with a greater priority on development. As part of that shift, this is going to be Mozeliak’s final year in his role, with Chaim Bloom to take over after that. Currently, Bloom is focused on overhauling the club’s player development apparatus.

As part of that transition, it seemed the franchise hoped to cut payroll, but they struggled to do so. Well-paid players like Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Miles Mikolas were apparently unwilling to waive their respective no-trade clauses. Nolan Arenado was open to waiving his but blocked a trade to the Astros in the offseason and ultimately ended up staying.

When those efforts to trim the roster and the payroll stalled, the Cardinals essentially pivoted to standing pat. They could have tried trading players without no-trade clauses, such as Erick Fedde or Ryan Helsley, but didn’t seem inclined to. Their investments in the club were modest, to put it mildly. Their $2MM deal for Phil Maton was their biggest expenditure.

They now find themselves in a sort of limbo position, in more ways than one. Not only are they in this transition season between front office regimes, but they are also hovering close to contention. Despite the lack of investment in the roster, the club has gone 47-42. That puts them just half a game back of a playoff spot, as of this writing.

Taken all together, it would be fair to wonder about the bottom line. Even with the winning record, would ownership want to invest in a club when they were trying to cut the budget just a few months ago? Nothing is confirmed and Mozeliak suggests some conversations still need to be had, but he has been with the club for decades and presumably has a decent feel for the room in St. Louis. He adds that he has not been told to trim payroll.

It’s possible that the next few weeks will be key for the Cards. If they stay in the race through the end of the month, buying will be more likely. If they fall a few games back, the odds of selling should increase.

They could also do a bit of both, as Goold lays out. He mentions that the club believes in Michael McGreevy and wants to give him a shot in the rotation, but he doesn’t currently have a spot. The starting staff currently consists of Gray, Mikolas, Fedde, Andre Pallante and Matthew Liberatore. Perhaps a trade of someone in that group could be used to open a spot for McGreevy while the club simultaneously adds elsewhere.

Fedde would be the most likely candidate to go as an impending free agent. As mentioned, Gray and Mikolas have no-trade protection while Pallante and Liberatore can be cheaply controlled for years to come. They also have Helsley, Maton and Steven Matz as impending free agents in the bullpen. Perhaps the Cards would consider flipping someone from that group while still hoping to have an effective bullpen overall. If other clubs are interested, the Cards will seemingly pick up the phone.

“Trying to understand what someone may want to give you for something is probably worth hearing or at least listening,” Mozeliak said. “You can always say no. The mindset of us going in is to remain open-minded.”

For now, it’s all still speculative. Much could change in the coming weeks. The club’s wins and losses will be a factor while player health could also be a key factor. “I do feel like when you look at where we are that week leading up, the 72 hours leading up to the trade deadline, that may affect how we make our decisions,” Mozeliak said. He added that he and Bloom will both be involved in the deadline decision making as part of a collaborative process. “I hope we have really hard decisions to make come July 31 because that means we’re playing well.”

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Royals Select Luke Maile

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:40:29 +0000

The Royals announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Luke Maile. Outfielder Drew Waters has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a vacancy, so no corresponding move was required there.

As noted by Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the move is related to some calf tightness that Salvador Perez is experiencing. Perez is in tonight’s lineup as the designated hitter, with Freddy Fermin behind the plate, but Maile gives them a bit of extra protection at the catcher spot for the event that there’s a negative development with Perez.

Maile, 34, previously spent a bit more than two weeks on Kansas City’s roster under similar circumstances. He was called up in early May with Perez battling hip soreness. Maile got into three games and put up a massive .375/.500/.750 line in ten plate appearances before being designated for assignment and outrighted to Omaha.

He obviously wasn’t going to maintain that kind of offensive production. He has a career batting line of .209/.276/.322 in 1,260 trips to the plate. But he’s carved out a decade-long career in the big leagues thanks to a solid reputation for his work while donning the tools of ignorance.

His status on the roster is presumably tied to the health of Perez. If Perez is fine, then Maile will likely end up cut from the roster just like he was back in May. Though if the calf injury worsens or lingers, Maile could stick around for a lengthier as Fermin’s backup.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images

Astros Re-Sign Tayler Scott To Minor League Deal

Darragh McDonald — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Astros have re-signed right-hander Tayler Scott to a minor league deal, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Rome adds that Scott is already with Triple-A Sugar Land. In the past week, he was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks and then elected free agency.

Scott and the Astros also linked up on a minor league deal going into the 2024 season. That turned out to be quite a successful arrangement. He made the club’s Opening Day roster and went on to make 62 appearances for Houston last year, logging 68 2/3 innings with a 2.23 earned run average. That ERA was at least partially misleading. His 25.2% strikeout rate and 42.4% ground ball rate were fine figures but he walked 12.4% of batters faced. He got a lot of help from a .230 batting average on balls in play and 84.9% strand rate.

His luck turned this year. In 16 2/3 innings with the Astros to start the year, his BABIP jumped to .313 and his strand rate fell to 65.2%. He also didn’t do himself any favors by having his walk rate jump to 15.4% and his strikeout rate fall to 20.5%. Those factors all helped him post a 5.40 ERA through mid-May.

Since he is out of options, the Astros designated him for assignment at that time, which led him to the Diamondbacks. He got into nine games with that club but allowed nine earned runs. He improved his walk rate but struck out fewer opponents. He got bumped off that club’s roster and returned to the open market.

Put together, Scott has an unpleasant 6.66 ERA in 25 2/3 innings on the year. But for the Astros, it’s a guy they are familiar with and there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. He’ll provide them with some non-roster bullpen depth and try to get in good form with the Space Cowboys.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images

Mets Re-Sign Colin Poche To Minor League Deal

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 23:44:26 +0000

The Mets have signed left-hander Colin Poche to a minor league deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The southpaw was on the club’s roster less than a week ago but was designated for assignment and then elected free agency.

The injury bug has been gorging itself on the Mets of late, which has led to a great deal of roster churn. They now have 13 pitchers on the injured list, seven of those hitting the shelf in the past three weeks. Poche was briefly on the roster as a part of that churn. He got into one game, allowing two earned runs in two thirds of an inning before being cut.

That wasn’t an especially impressive performance but it’s easy to understand why the Mets brought him back. There’s no real harm in a minor league deal, for one thing. Poche also has a strong track record. He tossed 156 2/3 innings for the Rays over the 2022 to 2024 seasons with a 3.27 earned run average, 24.5% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate.

The Mets have also been particularly hamstrung when it comes to left-handed relievers. They came into the year with A.J. Minter and Danny Young as their primary southpaws but both were felled by season-ending surgeries. Since then, they have cycled through pitchers like Poche, Génesis Cabrera and José Castillo. As of today, Richard Lovelady is the only lefty in the bullpen, with Brandon Waddell scheduled to make a start this weekend.

The club will likely look for a more permanent upgrade at the deadline. They also have Brooks Raley working his way back from Tommy John surgery. For now, Poche gives them some experienced non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 1432 – 2-Start Pitchers for Week 16

Paul Sporer — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 23:10:56 +0000

Paul and Justin celebrate the holiday weekend by running through the potentially available 2-start arms for next week

Source

Astros Designate Jordan Weems For Assignment

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 23:00:45 +0000

The Astros have recalled right-hander Jason Alexander from Triple-A Sugar Land, reports Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle. Fellow righty Jordan Weems has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Weems was selected to the roster a little over a week ago. He got into two games for the Astros, logging three innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits. He didn’t issue a walk but he didn’t strike anyone out either. It seems the Astros weren’t impressed with that brief performance. Weems is out of options, so they had little choice but to designate him for assignment.

He now has a 5.28 earned run average in 158 2/3 innings over the past six big league seasons. His 23.2% strikeout rate is decent but has been declining. He was around 25% earlier in his career but that mark dropped to 17.9% last year. Prior to getting called up this year, he logged 29 Triple-A innings, split between the Braves’ and Astros’ affiliates. He had a 4.66 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate, 12.2% walk rate and 48.8% ground ball rate.

DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Astros could take five days to explore trade interest. If he were to pass through outright waivers unclaimed in the coming days, he will have the right to elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

Athletics Reinstate Zack Gelof, Release T.J. McFarland

Darragh McDonald — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 22:45:11 +0000

The Athletics announced today that infielder Zack Gelof has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. He’ll take the active roster spot of infielder Luis Urías, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right hamstring, retroactive to July 3rd. The 40-man roster had a vacancy, so no corresponding move was required there. The A’s also announced that left-hander T.J. McFarland, who was designated for assignment last week, has been released.

Gelof has been on the IL all year up until now. He started the season on the shelf due to a hamate fracture. He was on a rehab assignment by late April but that was shut down after a few days due to a stress reaction in his ribs.

Now he can finally begin his season. He has shown some promise in his career so far but with some clear strikeout concerns. He debuted in 2023 with 14 home runs and 14 steals in just 69 games, but was punched out in 27.3% of his plate appearances. Last year, that strikeout rate jumped to 34.4% and he only hit 17 homers, despite getting into twice as many games. But his second base defense was solid and he stole another 25 bags, so he was still a useful player.

Ideally, continued reps will help him get that strikeout rate down to a more manageable level. The injuries have stood in the way of that path so far in 2025 but there’s still almost half the season to go. Urías has been the club’s regular second baseman lately, so Gelof can perhaps just slide into that spot and continue his development.

Urías is having a decent season and should be a midseason trade candidate. He’s an impending free agent making just $1.1MM this year. He is slashing .239/.320/.363 for a wRC+ of 91. The injury complicates things somewhat but it doesn’t appear to be serious. Manager Mark Kotsay didn’t think it was an IL stint as of Wednesday, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. Though the club has decided to shelve him, he may be back right after the break.

As for McFarland, once he was designated for assignment, it was likely he would end up on the open market. He is making $1.8MM this year and has a 6.89 earned run average. No club was going to have interest in taking that salary on. As a veteran with years of experience, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. The A’s have skipped that formality.

Now that he has been released, they are on the hook for that salary. Any other club can sign him and only pay him the prorated version of the league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. At that price point, clubs could be interested.

He has a 4.18 ERA in over a decade in the big leagues and his 2025 struggles may have been partially due to luck. His .393 batting average on balls in play and 66.2% strand rate are both to the unlucky side. His 9.5% strikeout rate was low even by his usual standards but his 61.3% ground ball rate was still strong. His 4.62 FIP and 3.83 SIERA suggest he might still be the same guy, despite this year’s ERA spike.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Freddy Galvis Announces Retirement

Leo Morgenstern — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 21:33:20 +0000

Infielder Freddy Galvis announced his retirement today in an Instagram post. His decision to hang up his cleats marks the end of a 19-year career in professional baseball.

The Phillies signed a teenage Galvis as an international free agent in 2006. He worked his way up the minor league ladder over the next several years, proving himself to be an elite defensive prospect and a capable contact hitter, even if a lack of power and plate discipline looked like it would always hold him back from being anything more than serviceable at the plate. Indeed, that’s precisely the type of major leaguer he became.

Galvis spent the first six years of his MLB tenure in Philadelphia from 2012-17 before bouncing around between the Padres, Blue Jays, Reds, and Orioles from 2018-21 and finally making his way back to the Phillies. Over 10 seasons, he played in 1,102 games and hit well enough to let his glove do most of the talking. He finished with just under 1,000 hits, including 171 doubles, 27 triples, and 109 home runs, good for a .246 batting average, a .680 OPS, and an 80 wRC+. A talented and versatile defender, he appeared in 883 games at shortstop, 144 at second base, 46 at third base, 12 in the outfield, and even one at first base. He compiled 8 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), a 24 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), and 25 Outs Above Average (OAA) – and keep in mind that OAA wasn’t tracked until his fifth big league campaign. While Galvis never won a Gold Glove, he was named a finalist in three consecutive years from 2016-18. So, despite middling offensive numbers, he nonetheless produced 10.8 FanGraphs WAR and 9.3 Baseball Reference WAR, an average of about 1.5 WAR per 162 games.

Following the 2021 season, Galvis, then 32, signed a two-year contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan. Unfortunately, he struggled badly in NPB and ended up spending more time with the Hawks’ farm team than the major league club. He hit well below .200 each year with an OPS under .600. Once his contract with the Hawks expired, Galvis spent 2024 with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League. Most recently, he suited up for Aguilas del Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League during the 2024-25 offseason. After a career that took him to several countries, it was perhaps only fitting that Galvis returned to his home country of Venezuela for his final professional games.

MLB Trade Rumors congratulates Galvis on all of his baseball accomplishments and wishes him the best in whatever he chooses to do next.

Rockies Reinstate Ryan Feltner From 60-Day IL, Outright Sam Hilliard

Leo Morgenstern — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 21:09:18 +0000

The Rockies announced a pair of transactions today. They reinstated Ryan Feltner from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A, and they sent outfielder Sam Hilliard outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. The team already had an open spot for Feltner on the 40-man after designating Hilliard for assignment earlier in the week, so no corresponding move was necessary.

It is somewhat surprising news that Feltner has been optioned, considering he has made Colorado’s Opening Day rotation in each of the past three years and has not pitched in the minors for any reason other than a rehab assignment since July 2022. In fact, he was the team’s most effective starting pitcher just last season (4.49 ERA, 4.31 SIERA in 30 starts), and he looked much the same over his first six starts in 2025, pitching to a 4.75 ERA and 4.49 SIERA through the end of April. However, this seems to be less of a demotion and more of a continued rehab assignment for Feltner. He has been on the IL since May due to back spasms, and he did not look particularly sharp in any of his three rehab outings with the Isotopes.

With the way that rookie Chase Dollander has struggled this season, especially as of late, Feltner won’t be blocked if he proves he’s ready to return to the majors. At the same time, the 20-67 Rockies have little incentive to rush him back before then. Hopefully for Felter, a few more outings at Triple-A are all he needs to rein in his control and get back to being the pitcher he was before his injury.

As for Hilliard, he has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, but not without sacrificing the remainder of his guaranteed salary for 2025. Thus, it seems likely he will accept the assignment, just as he did the last time the Rockies DFA’d and outrighted him this season. Presumably, he will return to Albuquerque and continue to serve as speedy, lefty-batting outfield depth for the organization.