PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 28: San Francisco Giants pitcher Blade Tidwell #46 is shown during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants on April 28th, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants continue this three-game road series against the Texas Rangers this afternoon.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Blade Tidwell, who enters today’s game with a 3.00 ERA, 3.51 FIP, with 10 strikeouts to three walks in 12 innings pitched in relief for the Giants this season, this will be his first start of the year. His last appearance was back on April 28th, in which he allowed two runs on four hits with two strikeouts and a walk in two innings.
He’ll be facing off against Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore, who enters today’s game with a 4.77 ERA, 3.80 FIP, with 136 strikeouts to 44 walks in 122.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Rangers’ 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last Wednesday, in which he allowed three runs on three hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JULY 29: Hayden Wesneski #39 of the Houston Astros pitches for the first time after coming back from surgery in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 29, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Houston Astros (58-56), who had their six-game winning streak snapped last night, will look to begin a new streak tonight in the middle game of their three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays (53-60).
RHP Hayden Wesneski (1-0, 4.76 ERA) will make his second Major league start of the season in his return from Tommy John surgery, this time opposite RHP Trey Yesavage (5-5, 3.73 ERA) and the Blue Jays.
BIG WES: After missing 14 months with injury, RHP Hayden Wesneski made his return to a big league mound his last time out, on July 29 at LAA (3ER/5.2IP), earning the win over the Angels. This solid start continued a strong run for Wesneski, who was great in his rehab appearances, posting a 2.25 (5ER/20IP) combined ERA in five minor league rehab starts.
WINNING WAYS: Even with last night’s loss, the Astros have won 11 of their last 13 games. The Astros are two games over .500, and lead the AL West by 2.5 games over the Rangers and Mariners, who both enter tonight with identical 55-58 records.
THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 38-25 since May 22, which is the second-best record in the AL in that span. On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.
Winning Percentage since May 22, AL
1. Red Sox 38-24 (.613)
2. Astros 38-25 (.603)
3. Tigers 34-27 (.557)
THAT’S OFFENSIVE: The Astros rank second in the AL in home runs (155) and third in runs scored (529), just behind the Twins (532) and White Sox (531). Also among AL clubs, the Astros rank first in slugging (.416) and in OPS (.737), and second in batting average (.246), OBP (.321) and hits (946).
YESTERDAY’S MOVES: The Astros made one trade yesterday, acquiring OF Daulton Varsho and cash from the Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Spencer Arrighetti. The Astros activated Varsho last night and optioned OF Lucas Spence to Triple A.
JULY HONORS: Announced yesterday, DH Yordan Alvarez was named the AL Player of the Month for July. This marks the fourth career AL Player of the Month Award for Alvarez and his second in 2026. In July, Alvarez hit .360 (31×86) with nine HR, 22 RBI, a .467 OBP, a .721 SLG, and a 1.188 OPS in 23 games.
MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez leads the AL in all three Triple Crown categories, ranking first in batting average (.330), HR (35), and RBI (84). Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.091), OBP (.443), SLG (.648), extra-base hits (59), and TB (263). In the AL, he ranks first in hits (134) and runs (77), and tied for second in walks (79).
HEAVY TRAFFIC: DH Yordan Alvarez has reached base safely in 19 straight games (since July 10), batting .433 (29×67) with 15 runs, eight doubles, six home runs, 17 RBI, 20 walks, a .568 OBP and a 1.389 OPS during the streak. Alvarez also has on-base streaks of 25 games (May 22-June 19) and 22 games (April 4-28) this season.
GOOD INTENTIONS: DH Yordan Alvarez has been intentionally walked 23 times this season, by far the most in the Majors. Alvarez’s 23 intentional walks are the third-highest total in a single season by an Astros player in club history, trailing only seasons produced by 1B Jeff Bagwell (27 IBB in 1997) and OF Rusty Staub (24 IBB in 1968).
STREAKING: SS Jeremy Peña is on a career-high 15-game hitting streak, in which he’s hit .422 (27×64) with three doubles, one triple, seven homers, 15 RBI and a 1.292 OPS. Peña’s streak is the longest active streak in the Majors, and is the longest streak by an Astro since 3B Alex Bregman had a 16-game streak from May 28-June 15, 2024.
WHAT A RELIEF: LHP Josh Hader, who is 15-for-15 in save chances with a 1.17 ERA, recorded his 77th career save as an Astro on Saturday, moving him past RHP Fred Gladding (76) for fifth place in saves all-time among Astros relievers. He now trails RHP Ryan Pressly (111) for fourth on that all-time list.
STALKING 500: RHP Bryan Abreu has 499 career strikeouts, needing just one strikeout to reach 500 for his career. He would become just the fourth reliever in franchise history to record 500 strikeouts with the club, joining LHP Billy Wagner (694), RHP Brad Lidge (557) and RHP Dave Smith (529).
MINOR LEAGUE HONORS: Earlier today, IF Waner Luciano and RHP Bryce Mayer were named the Astros minor league Player and Pitcher of the Month for July. Luciano, 21, hit .316 (24×76) with 20 RBI, nine stolen bases and a 1.021 OPS in 22 games in July with Class A Fayetteville. Mayer, 24, the Astros top pitching prospect, went 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA (1ER/19IP) in July with Double A Corpus Christi.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1991 – The Astros turn their eighth triple play in franchise history in a 2-1 walk-off win in 10 innings vs. the Dodgers. LHP Jim Deshaies is the beneficiary after inducing a foul pop up to SS Alfredo Griffin. Two Dodgers are thrown out advancing on the play to end the 5th inning. Houston wins on a walk-off single by C Craig Biggio in the 10th.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, August 4, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: SCHN, SCHN 2
Radio: KTRH 740 AM; KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JULY 8: MacKenzie Gore #1 of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Globe Life Field on July 8, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 19: Marcelo Mayer #11 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after a strike out during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on June 19, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 MLB trade deadline is in the books, and it was the most active the San Francisco Giants have been in a very long time. For that matter, I covered the Giants for the entirety of Farhan Zaidi’s churn-driven reign, and I can’t remember a period of activity like what we saw from the Giants on Sunday night and Monday. But being nearly 20 games under .500 at the deadline will do that to a team.
So, in case you missed the action, here’s everything you need to know from a day that left the current Giants gutted … and the future Giants all the more exciting.
What happened?
The Giants made five moves in total, in which they traded six rostered players and one prospect. In return, the Giants received six prospects and two rostered players.
Here are the five moves, in chronological order.
Giants trade right-hander Tyler Mahle to the Atlanta Braves for right-hander Anthony Molina (rostered, in AAA) — link to story
Giants trade second baseman Luis Arráez and right-handed reliever Caleb Kilian to the Philadelphia Phillies for right-hander Ramon Marquez (High-A) and right-handed reliever Marty Gair (High-A) — link to story
Giants trade left-hander Robbie Ray to the San Diego Padres for right-hander Miguel Mendez (AA) and shortstop Joniel Hernandez (Dominican Summer League) — link to story
Giants trade outfielder Heliot Ramos to the New York Yankees for left-hander Henry LaLane (High-A) and infielder Kaeden Kent (High-A) — link to story
Giants trade reliever Erik Miller and outfield prospect Carlos Gutierrez (High-A) to the Boston Red Sox for infielder Marcelo Mayer (rostered, on the 10-Day IL) — link to story
That’s a whole lot of action! And if you want a more in-depth breakdown of how the Giants did in each of those trades, our Bryan Murphy has you covered with grades for each deal.
The best move: the Luis Arráez deal
One can certainly make the case that Buster Posey and Zack Minasian did their best work with the Robbie Ray trade, which we’ll get to soon enough. And indeed, it may be that Ray had the best return relative to expectations.
But for me, the star of a fantastic day of wheeling and dealing was flipping Arráez and Kilian for Marquez and Gair. There was talk going into the deadline that not much of a market had materialized for Arráez, despite his stellar year. There was also talk that the Giants were holding out for a huge package.
It didn’t seem likely that the Giants would win that battle. There were limited teams that needed a second baseman, and powerless hitters don’t usually command a lot on the trade market. It seemed a deal similar to what the Giants got for Camilo Doval last year — a quartet of intriguing prospects — was most likely for Arráez.
But the Giants held firm with what they believed he was worth, and in the end emerged with Marquez, one of the best prospects traded at the deadline. The 20-year old was ranked as the No. 67 overall prospect in the latest Fangraphs top 100 and, by most accounts, slots behind only recent fourth overall selection Jackson Flora among pitching prospects in the Giants system. He’s been thoroughly dominant in both Low and High-A this year, sporting a 1.68 ERA and a 2.32 FIP across the two levels, with 93 strikeouts to just 19 walks in 59 innings.
Like his new teammate in Eugene, Luis De La Torre, Marquez was an unconventional international signing who was born in Arizona but grew up in Mexico. Last year was his debut season, so if he’s this good already, one can only imagine how high his ceiling can be. All prospects are, for lack of a less demeaning term, lottery tickets. But Marquez is the rare one where it’s quite easy to see him being a No. 2 or 3 starter in the Majors before long. So getting him and Gair … a triple-digit reliever who has 66 strikeouts in 36 innings this year? Fantastic work by the front office.
The worst move: Tyler Mahle for Anthony Molina
The Giants never figured to get much for Mahle, so you could argue that getting anything at all was a win. Still, Molina amounts more to a waiver claim than a trade return. He was designated for assignment this past offseason, and has a career 6.89 ERA and 5.16 FIP in 99.1 Major League innings (though almost all of those came with the Colorado Rockies, so adjust accordingly). He’s been merely average in AAA this year, and has ever been one to strike a lot of batters out. He’s only 24, but there’s not a lot in his underlying data to suggest that they Giants have an interesting project to work on.
They got off Mahle’s contract, so it wasn’t a bad deal, all things considered. But you would have hoped for a low-level flyer rather than someone who will probably get designated for assignment this winter.
Most exciting prospect received: Joniel Hernandez
Let’s play a quick game. Here are two players competing in the Dominican Summer League. See if you can figure out who they are:
Player A: 17-year old shortstop, .315/.439/.510, 15.7% strikeout rate, $1.4 million signing bonus Player B: 17-year old shortstop, .275/.393/.517, 16.7% strikeout rate, $1.0 million signing bonus
Player A is Hernandez. Player B is 2024 Jhonny Level.
Now, development is different for every player, and the DSL is to the rest of Minor League Baseball as the San Francisco Giants are to the rest of Major League Baseball. Hernandez’s move to the states next year could be far less Level and far more Rayner Arias. But when you see a 17-year old middle infielder with a seven-figure bonus putting up gaudy stats in the DSL, you can’t help but dream a little bit. Hernandez has tools galore, and instantly becomes one of the fastest players in the Giants system, and one of the fastest swingers. This is the exacty type of lottery ticket that teams should be making sure they get at the trade deadline; once upon a time, Yordan Alvarez and Fernando Tatis Jr. were these types of so-far-from-the-Majors-who-cares-about-trading-them lottery tickets in trades. You never know when you’ll hit.
Most surprising move: Not trading more relievers
It’s hard to say the Giants traded too few players after getting rid of six players from their active roster. But … I think they traded too few players. The bullpen has been awful this year, but it’s not lacking for decent parts. JT Brubaker has had a solid season. Sam Hentges is a lefty. Jason Foley has looked good in his short stint since returning. Adrian Houser is alive. I thought we might see a few of those guys included in a trade the way Kilian was, to enhance the package … or traded on their own to return a flyer in the lower levels of the Minors.
The biggest takeaway: the Giants are looking beyond 2027
While I thought the Mahle trade was objectively the worst, my least favorite trade of the deadline was shipping Ramos to the Yankees. Much of that is my own bias: Ramos has long been one of my favorite Giants, someone I believe in irrationally, and one of the Giants stars of the memory making business, which Posey purports to prioritize. Some of it is due to my ire at the Giants often refusing to prioritize loud tools, a trait that feels very antiquated: with Ramos gone, the Giants are down to just two players (Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge) who actually hit the ball hard.
But the other thing I dislike about the trade is that I’m honestly not entirely sure what the Giants are doing. To be clear, that’s not necessarily a bad thing: usually when I do know what the Giants are doing, it’s not good.
As rumors started to pop up that the Giants were shopping Ramos, it seemed likely that they would be targeting some pitching. Ramos and a prospect for Seattle Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock was floated more than once on social media, and that trade would have made a lot of sense. After all, if the Giants intend to compete in 2027 — and they keep claiming they do — then the team needs to find a whopping three starting pitchers, and a handful of relievers as well.
In a vacuum, the Ramos trade is great work by Posey and Minasian. But they created a hole in left field by trading an everyday player, and what they got back is a lower-minors infielder and a pitcher who got to High-A less than a month ago.
And then you look at the rest of the trades and realize … well, that’s what the Giants did, almost all the way through. The Giants almost exclusively targeted prospects who are still a few years away.
It’s hard to square that with the team’s desire to have a winning season next year. The Giants traded for eight players at the deadline, and there’s only one of those eight that I expect to see in the Majors next year. And that one (Marcelo Mayer), is an infielder who has been one of the worst hitters in the Majors since debuting last year … taking a relatively risk-free gamble on a 23-year old former top prospect is a great move, but it’s one that could take nearly all of next season to materialize.
San Francisco could still compete next year, of course. It’s just that, without patching any of their holes yesterday, they’re likely to enter the offseason needing at least two and probably three starting pitchers, a few relievers, and a pair of outfielders. They did exceedingly well at the deadline, yet their 2027 competitive prospects look worse today than they did on Sunday, and that is not what I expected to transpire on Monday.
Former Giants on the move
Here are all the former Giants who were traded at the deadline:
Righty starter Kevin Gausman was traded to the Chicago Cubs
Catcher Joey Bart was traded to the Chicago White Sox
Righty reliever Camilo Doval was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 05: Ryan Weathers #40 of the New York Yankees in action against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on June 05, 2026 in New York City. The Red Sox defeated the Yankees 5-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Most of the time, you can’t tell when a new era of Yankees baseball begins. We sure as hell didn’t expect Aaron Judge’s debut 10 years ago this month would perfectly segue from the last remnant of the 2000s Yankees retiring (Alex Rodríguez) to the next Yankee great, but it’s fair to say it was a pleasant surprise.
In a perfect world for Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, and the Yankees, a new era can unofficially begin tonight, as the prodigal son Yankees’ top prospect George Lombard Jr. will make his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium a day after a rather disappointing deadline opened the door for improvements in the infield.
Looking to get the rotation back on track after Cam Schlittler’s rough outing last night is Ryan Weathers, who will be making a personal-best 22nd start of the season. Already blowing past his career-high in innings, Weathers enters with a 3.99 ERA (105 ERA+) and a 3.77 FIP in 115 innings and is officially in audition mode as the return of Carlos Rodón from injury draws nearer. He’s allowed one run or fewer in three of his last four starts, finding a way to mix his pitches and keep the ball in the park better than his slog before the all-star break.
On the other end is a man you might recognize. Hunter Dobbins gained notoriety for his intense hatred of the Yankees after the disputed treatment of his father and the fact that he debuted with the Red Sox in kind of an inverse Schlittler way. His career took a dive after he tossed six shutout innings against the Yanks in 2025, tearing his ACL and later being sent to the Cardinals in the Willson Contreras trade. In seven appearances this season in St. Louis, the 26-year-old has a 3.74 ERA (107 ERA+) and 3.81 FIP in 33.2 innings.
Dobbins is a unique pitcher, as he’s had pretty violent reverse splits for a right-handed pitcher, allowing an OPS 200 points higher against same-handed hitting. His calling card in Boston was good command and getting the ball on the ground, but that’s faded slightly this season as he struggles to get the opposition to whiff or chase. He has six pitches, but leans on his four-seamer, slider, and splitter against lefties while throwing more sinkers and sweepers to righties.
The new-look Yankees lineup will feature Trent Grisham and Ben Rice at the top, as always, before the pair of deadline acquisitions bat third and fourth, as Luis García Jr. looks for an encore after last night’s debut and Heliot Ramos makes his Yankees debut. Spencer Jones, who survived the axe that swung on Volpe and Domínguez last night, bats fifth in front of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon. Lombard will bat eighth in his big-league debut, just in front of Austin Wells.
Rookie extraordinaire JJ Wetherholt will lead off, followed by sluggers Jordan Walker and Iván Herrera. José Fermín joins the lineup, batting cleanup, followed by platoon bat Nelson Velazquez. Masyn Winn, Blaze Jordan, Nathan Church, and Pedro Pagés round out the order.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium — The Bronx, NY
First pitch: 7:05 pm ET
TV broadcast: YES, Cardinals.TV
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM (STL)
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 02: Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) celebrates with Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) after hitting a home run during the MLB game between the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves on August 2, 2026 at TRUIST Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves will be looking to continue their NL East-beating ways coming off the momentum of a four-game sweep of the Nationals… here come the Miami Marlins.
Grant Holmes gets the ball for Atlanta’s first game after the trade deadline versus Ryan Gusto at 7:15 pm ET. Join us to chat about the game (and fine, any other trade deadline-related feelings you may have remaining) in the comments.
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 11: Hunter Dobbins #40 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches during the second inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 11, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s game 2 in the Big Apple Tuesday night as the Cardinals do battle with the Yankees. The St. Louis Cardinals have announced Hunter Dobbins will be their starter for Tuesday’s game while the Yankees will give the baseball to Ryan Weathers. First pitch scheduled for 6:05pm central time at Yankee Stadium and the TV broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 29: Jared Jones #17 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at PNC Park on July 29, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the second contest of a four-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers, where they hope to make up some ground in the NL Wild Card standings.
Jared Jones is drawing the start for the Pirates so far this season. He is 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA in his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 29. Jones pitched six innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs in a 3-0 loss at home. Jones has pitched at least six innings in three of his last four starts.
The Brewers are countering with Logan Henderson, who is making his 10th start of the year. The Brewers are 7-2 in games where he pitches, and he has won five of those decisions. In his last start on July 28 on the road against the San Francisco Giants, Henderson pitched 5.2 innings, gave up two hits, and allowed zero earned runs in an 8-2 victory for the Brew Crew.
Henderson’s last loss came on May 3, so this will be a tough matchup for the Pirates. Henderson made five starts last season for the Brewers, including one against the Pirates, where he pitched five innings.
Location: American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Jared Jones (2-2, 3.81 ERA) vs. Logan Henderson (5-1, 2.66 ERA)
BD community, this is your gameday thread for today’s game. Chime off in the comments section below.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - JULY 20: Starting pitcher Joe Ryan #41 of the Minnesota Twins reacts after the end of the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 20, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
First Pitch: 6:40 PM CDT
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM, Audacy App, LosTwins.com
After getting some needed pitching help at the trade deadline, the Twins will face off against the Royals. On the mound this evening will be Joe Ryan and Randy Dobnak. Last time out, Dobnak stymied the Twins lineup, tossing seven scoreless innings. For Joe, he hasn’t looked like himself in his last two starts, allowing 18 hits and 12 earned runs over 10 innings.
During a 2022 appearance on “The Pivot” podcast, Shaq went viral for admitting regret about his role in his divorce, and added, “I was lost. 76,000 square foot house by yourself, lost. No kids, go to the gym, nobody playing in the gym. We go to their room, nobody’s there. You start to feel it.”
Shaquille O’Neal looks at the camera at a Fanatics event. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
Another comment Shaq made about his deteriorated family life during a conversation with his son, Shareef, on a recent episode of his “Post Moves” Netflix show is raising eyebrows on Tuesday.
Shaq was speaking to Shareef about the sacrifices it takes to play professional basketball, especially when it comes to building and sustaining a family.
“Are you ready to live that life? If you want to be great, my man, you gotta sacrifice everything. I’ve lost a family trying to be great,” O’Neal added.
“Are you ready to live that life? If you want to be great, my man, you gotta sacrifice everything. I’ve lost a family trying to be great.”@SHAQ having an honest conversation with his son Shareef O'Neal about pursuing an NBA career.
Shaq’s claim that he lost a family “trying to be great” has gone viral, as fans are raising their eyebrows about how he’s seemingly using his pursuit of greatness as an excuse for the detrimental decisions he made in his personal life.
This is especially true because it appears to contradict the accountability Shaq has shown in the past. He previously admitted that his own ego-fueled decisions and mistakes has led to his present situation.
O’Neal and his ex-wife of nine years, Shaunie Henderson, finalized their divorce in 2011.
Shaquille O’Neal poses with his ex-wife and four of their children. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
“I wasn’t protecting [Shaunie] and protecting those vows,” he said about his marriage with Henderson. “Sometimes you live that double life and you get caught up in it.”
Regardless of his reasoning, it’s clear that Shaq has a lot of regret for his current family situation. But at least he’s getting to spend time with one of his six children—even if it is for the cameras.
Draper in tears during 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 loss to Térence Atmane
Jack Draper was in tears during a first-round comeback defeat by Térence Atmane at the Canadian Open.
The Briton was competing for the first time since pulling out of Wimbledon with a recurrence of a bruised bone in his left arm, and was beaten 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in Montreal.
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 17: Manager Walt Weiss #22 of the Atlanta Braves speaks with members of the media before the game against the Texas Rangers at Truist Park on July 17, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s the day after the Trade Deadline and the Atlanta Braves are back at it. Again, it has to be mentioned that Atlanta is 22 games over .500 with a healthy-sized lead in the NL East at the moment, so it’s not all doom-and-gloom at the ballpark. With that being said, it’s totally understandable for the fans to have questions about what’s going on with the state of the squad after what turned out to be an underwhelming Trade Deadline day.
Still, manager Walt Weiss feels confident in his squad and also confident in the GM’s vision for the team going forward. He stated as much when he was asked about it in the pregame press conference ahead of their season opener with the Miami Marlins.
“I’m not going to call him and say ‘Hey, I need this…He knows,” stated Weiss. “We talk on a daily basis and over the course of the Trade Deadline […] he was keeping me in the loop of what was going on.” Weiss went on to make it very clear that he’s in favor of the job that AA is doing as GM. “Bottom line: I trust his judgment. I trust who he’s going to bring in the building and that they’ve been very well-vetted if they’re going to come in this building,” affirmed Weiss. “Whether it’s a player or a staff member or support staff. You know it’s going to be [good] people on board with you.”
On the shortstop situation
Ha-Seong Kim has finally returned from rehab assignment and while it’ll surely be nice to have Kim back (and hopefully productive), his return did spark a bit of speculation as to how the shortstop situation would unfold going forward.
Weiss has decided to stay the course with the rookie Jim Jarvis and he confirmed that Jarvis will be staying active with the squad. “Jarvis has earned some playing time. He’s going to get some reps,” said Weiss when he was asked about the shortstop situation. “You’re going to see me use [Mauricio] Dubón at short against some left-handed starters. [Ha-Seong] Kim’s back in the picture so we can see what that looks like.”
Weiss appears to see Kim’s return as a bit of an opportunity. “We got some versatility,” stated Weiss. “For the most part, I’m going to continue to look at that spot like I do everywhere else — who’s playing well, who gives us the best chance to win based on how they’re performing.”
Where does Mauricio Dubón fit in?
With shortstop being a bit crowded, that also opens up questions about where Mauricio Dubón fits into things. The obvious answer is “Wherever there’s a gap” since Dubón’s versatility has proven to be his most valuable asset as a player so far and Weiss confirmed that Dubón is still going to play a big role for the Braves going forward.
“When we first signed Dubón, [the versatility] is what we had in mind,” said Weiss. “I talked about giving these guys days and obviously Dubón was a major piece that allowed me to do that. He’s been one of our best performers. He started out as an infielder and then when [Ronald] Acuña [Jr.] went down, he’s been one of our most consistent performers — one of the guys that’s the heart and soul of our club. He’s going to continue to play a lot. I know he’s not in the lineup tonight but he’s going to continue to play a lot.”
On the catcher situation
Another sign that Weiss is starting to have some good problems to have when it comes to filling out his lineup card on a nightly basis is the return of Sean Murphy into the fold as well. When asked about where Murphy fits into things going forward, Weiss was pretty excited to talk about it.“
“At this position, I’ve caught Drake [Baldwin] against right-handed starters and DH’d him against left-handed starters. That makes the most sense obviously with [Sean Murphy] being a right-handed hitter, he gets to start against left-handed pitching. However, I don’t think he’s going to be exclusive to that,” explained Weiss. “We love what Murph brings to the table, especially on the defensive side. The game-calling, the ability to control the running game and the ability to handle a pitching staff, those are all strengths of his. It’ll look similar to where it’s been in the past with Murph getting the starts against lefties but I don’t think it’ll be that exclusive.
Weiss is clearly keeping his options open when it comes to his primary duo of catchers and again, it’s a good problem to have. “Like everything else, you’ve got to watch how it all plays out and things change every day […] If you try to look to October and what’s going to happen, that’s a million miles away as we sit here today,” proclaimed Weiss.
On Tyler Mahle being added to the pitching staff
I was able to ask about the addition of Tyler Mahle to the squad as well and how important it’ll be for him to eat some innings for the squad going forward. As usual, Weis was very effusive about having a new pitcher to utilize going forward and he made it clear how Mahle is going to fit in going forward.
“Looking [to have Tyler Mahle] protect the bullpen when we can. I think he helps us do that,” stated Weiss. “You’ve heard me talk about the importance of starting pitching as the most valuable commodity in the game […] I think that Mahle has shown that he can get deeper in games and he’s throwing the ball lately so he’s trending in the right way this year. I think he’s a very functional piece to work with.”
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 04: Luis Arraez #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies warms up prior to the game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Derik Hamilton/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 29: Joey Cantillo #54 of the Cleveland Guardians throws a pitch during the first inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 29, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Munetaka Murakami owns a 1.006 OPS with four home runs in the past two weeks, and is batting second tonight. | (Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
Both the White and Red Sox were active at Monday’s trade deadline as they chase their respective division titles. A three-game set on the road in Boston will be a good test for the South Siders against high-quality competition in a tough atmosphere away from home, giving a taste of what the playoffs could potentially be like down the line.
To make room for the newly acquired players from the trade deadline, the White Sox made seven corresponding moves to the 40-man and 26-man rosters today, with Edgar Quero and left-handed reliever Tyler Schweitzer optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.
Catcher Joey Bart and outfielder Brenton Doyle will make their White Sox debuts tonight, batting sixth and seventh in the lineup as Will Venable leverages a righty-heavy batting order against a left-handed pitcher. The good news is that the Sox have (likely) their three best pitchers tossing throughout the series, with righthander Davis Martin being tapped first. Martin is making his 22nd start of the season, and while he hasn’t been as dominant as the first half, he’s maintained a 3.62 ERA — the 13th-best in the AL — with a 9-5 record on the year. Martin leans on his fastball the most, but his off-speed pitches are producing lower opponent batting averages, with his curveball leading the way with a .163 opponent BA and a 40.4% whiff rate.
Martin will have plenty of power to support him throughout the lineup. However, the bottom half of the order is a bit of a wild card outside of Braden Montgomery, given these will be Bart and Doyle’s first at-bats for Chicago, and Luisangel Acuña is pretty much always a question mark. To be fair, Acuña is batting .352 over his last 54 at-bats, but he’s been cooling down in his last seven, only going two for his last 13 (.154). If we’re lucky, maybe someone will blast a moon shot over the big Green Monster.
The White Sox offense will go against lefthander Patrick Sandoval, who has only started four games since returning from injury about a month ago. In his 19 innings, he’s posted a 3.32 ERA, but his 1.579 WHIP could definitely use some work. Sandoval hasn’t walked many batters, holding a 7% walk rate, but he’s allowed 24 hits thus far, contributing to his elevated WHIP. The lefty seems to leverage his slider the most, 31.2% of the time, but opponents are batting .300 against it. In contrast, his changeup seems to be the more unhittable pitch, holding just a .130 opponent BA and slugging percentage while drawing a 36% whiff rate.
Thankfully for Sandoval, Ceddanne Rafaela is adding some strength at the top of the order, as he has been one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball these last couple of weeks. In the past 15 days (12 games), Rafaela holds the fourth-best OPS (1.134), the second-best SLG (.788), and has mashed seven homers in his last 12 games, the most in MLB during that time span. Though he’s batting eighth for Boston tonight, Andruw Monasterio has also been hot these past two weeks, boasting a .935 OPS with a .342/.409/.526 slash line. The Red Sox could make Martin work tonight, but ideally, he’s on his game and is up for the challenge.
Since the Good Guys are on the East Coast, game time is a bit earlier this week, with first pitch taking place at 6:10 p.m. CT. It should be a nice summer evening, with temperatures expected to be in the low-80s to upper-70s throughout the game. Tune into CHSN or ESPN Chicago AM 1000 on the radio, and let’s get a White Sox W.
Power Moves 
