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Being transactional was a thing that JJ Picollo said this organization wanted to be when he took over the operations side as POBO/GM. We now have almost four years of trades to see if at least that part of transacting is going well as we near the 2026 trade deadline. I am not going to go through every swap he has made, Josh Taylor for Adalberto Mondesi is not worth rehashing, but I would like to walk through all of the consequential ones.

There have been two standout successes in the trades. Let’s start there and work our way down.

Aroldis Chapman for Cole Ragans and Roni Cabrera

Aroldis Chapman was traded away at the deadline in 2023, so the Royals gave up 3 months of a good reliever in a season that was already over for them. They got back a pitcher who nearly won the Cy Young 15 months later and was a big reason they were in the playoffs in 2024. Ragans injury issues have colored this a bit, but getting 8+ WAR out of a rental reliever is very good and he still might come back and be good at some point to accummulate some more. Roni Cabrera is also of interest here. He is about to turn 21, so still young, and he is having an okay year in single-A ball. He may still end up on the big league team at some point though it is likely to be closer to 2030 if it happens. This is a very good trade that still has a chance to be spectacular if Cole can get healthy and stay that way or Cabrera turns into a solid everyday guy at some point in the future.

Freddy Ferminfor Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek

I know people like Freddy Fermin and he was nice to have around for a couple of solid seasons. He was also a backup catcher who was over 30 when the Royals traded him. It just was not that much to give up, especially with Carter Jensen coming along. They got back two legitimate young starters for a backup catcher. Bergert is hurt because he pitches baseballs for a living and that is what happens to those types of people. He will be back at some point, and I assume be decent or better again. Stephen Kolek has made 15 starts for the Royals so far and looks like the type of guy you want in the 4th spot in the rotation with possibly some upside for more. Solid trade, no notes.

David Sandlin for John Schreiber

This is not one that will go down in history as some huge deal, but Schreiber has been a consistent and mostly useful part of the bullpen for almost three years now and this bullpen has been desperate for good innings through portions of that time. David Sandlin has just gotten to the MLB ranks with the White Sox recently and also been sent back down because it has not gone well. He is a 25-year-old starter who is still walking way too many batters though his AAA numbers this season are okay. I think the Royals will not regret this move and having Schreber has been worth it. Not amazing, but a moderate win to this point.

Angel Zerpa for Isaac Collins and Nick Mears

This has to be considered better for the Royals than the Brewers so far, but not in a good way really. Isaac Collins and Nick Mears are both sitting on 0.0 fWAR, so that is not what the Royals were trying to get. However, Angel Zerpa is out with TJ after just 12 bad innings for Milwaukee. The verdict is not out yet. I still think this was the right trade and will end up better for the Royals, though it could also just end up being a disappointment for both sides. I do want to say that I love this style of move from JJ though. This is what I want transactional to look like in a lot of ways.

Mason Barnett, Will Klein, and Jared Dickey for Lucas Erceg

The Royals definitely gave up some value here. Mason Barnett and Will Klein have been useful bullpen arms the last two seasons. Barnett is a middle reliever with limited upside, not actually good enough to worry about losing so far. Klein has been very good over almost 50 innings for the Dodgers between last year and this, so maybe realizing the potential we saw by finally bringing down the walk rate. Jared Dickey is putting up a mediocre AAA season. Meanwhile, Lucas Erceg has been a massively important part of the bullpen for the Royals. This year he has struggled, but for a year plus, including helping getting to and through a round of the playoffs, he was the fireman or closer. Kansas City has so far gotten the better end and I think it was the right deal.

Walter Pennington for Michael Lorenzen

Not a flashy trade. It was a useful one though. Pennington briefly made it to the big leagues, 18 total innings, but did not stick and is now a free agent. The Royals did not really give up anything or so it seems anyway. Lorenzen was a capable 5th starter for basically a season worth of work. Picollo deserves a golf clap here.

Michael A. Taylor for Steven Cruz and Evan Sisk

Michael A. Taylor was very much Kyle Isbel before Kyle Isbel. He was older and he was fine. Trading a year of Taylor for Cruz and Sisk made sense with what the team had and needed. Sisk did nothing for the Kansas City part of the Royals organization except help get Bailey Falter I guess. That might actually be a negative. Steven Cruz has been bad at times and good at others and overall kind of meh. I guess the Royals kind of lost this trade? I don’t feel all that bad about it. Sort of a draw in my mind. What are you supposed to get for an aging center fielder who is not very good at hitting?

Whit Merrifield for Max Castillo and Samad Taylor

This organization waited way too long to trade Merrifield and by the time he did move, the value was not super high. Thus, they got back little. Max Castillo basically did nothing for the Royals, or anyone else, after the trade. Samad Taylor played briefly for the Royals at replacement level and then was traded to Seattle for a player to be named later. That player, once named, was Nataneal Garabitos who seems to be gone from affiliated ball at this point. JJ did not win this trade. Again, it is kind of a got what you could and that wasn’t much, so it did not work out really. Hard to get super mad at it, but also disappointing.

Jonathan Bowlan for Matt Strahm

Now we are into the legitimately bad territory. This looked like it made sense going into this year. Unfortunately, you traded a bullpen arm for a more established bullpen arm and then the pitcher you traded outperforms the one you acquired, that is bad. Strahm is more expensive and older and you have fewer years of control. This could turn around a bit as Strahm has been better as of late and could be traded before the deadline. Bowlan has also not been some revelation in Philadelphia. He has been pretty good. This is looking like one where JJ is going to take an L.

Cayden Wallace and 39th draft pick for Hunter Harvey

Hunter Harvey was really good for the Royals he just wasn’t available the vast majority of the time. Only 16 innings across parts of two seasons is not worth trading for no matter how good those innings are. Cayden Wallace is still in AA for Washington, though playing well this year so far. A sandwich pick like that has value. This was not good for KC.

Brady Singer for Joey Wiemer and Jonathan India

Again, the thought process here made a lot of sense. The Royals had starters, they did not have a leadoff hitter. India just played very badly or was hurt. Joey Wiemer never really did anything of consequence. Giving up a consistent starter and getting back below replacement level production is objectively bad. Is this mostly bad luck? Possibly, but it was bad nonetheless.

Now to answer the question. I think JJ Picollo has been a bit above average on trades since taking over that duty for the Royals. The wins outweigh the losses and even some of the losses are bad in hindsight more than in real time. There are only three I just don’t think you can argue anything other than JJ lost the trade. Seven are either clear wins or the Royals are at least ahead for now. So, if you ignore all the players for cash and other minutiae, I think the record on trades is positive for this Royals leadership team. Hopefully over the next few weeks they bank a few more wins.

The Boston Red Sox have been the beneficiary of superb starting pitching in 2026.

Ranger Suarez has a 3.15 ERA and was just named to the group’s lone 2026 MLB All-Star. Sonny Gray should and probably will be joining him, but can take solace in the fact that he has a 2.61 ERA. Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, and Jake Bennett, three rookies who have exceeded any and all expectations placed upon them, are rocking respective 3.39, 3.34, and 3.10 ERAs.

If you’ve been paying attention, though, you would know that the club’s current five-man rotation isn’t going to last much longer…

I’ve decided to take a look at each of the five men who are currently pitching their balls off for the hometown club and figure out what their next steps are — with several approaching uncharted waters, others currently dealing with injuries, and one likely to be the most coveted arm at the trade deadline.

SONNY GRAY

Gray has been absolutely phenomenal, as he is currently riding a streak of seven consecutive quality starts and hasn’t allowed more than three runs since April 14 against the Minnesota Twins.

GOOD!

Gray is also going to be the most coveted arm on the trading block.

NOT GOOD!

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan included him at No. 11 on their list of players most likely to be moved at the trade deadline, though they admitted: “Gray’s restructured contract after his trade from St. Louis to Boston includes a $10 million buyout on a $30 million mutual option for 2027. Considering mutual options don’t get picked up, that is a pricey deadline acquisition, leaving Boston somewhat hamstrung unless it’s willing to pay down a significant portion and convince Gray to accept a deal.”

RANGER SUAREZ

Suarez is sticking around, though he might soon be spending time on the injured list, having left his start against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. The Red Sox have already started to prepare for his potential absence, activating Patrick Sandoval from the injured list on Monday — with the expectation that he’ll start on Thursday.

CONNELLY EARLY

Early is already on the injured list, and will get a second opinion this week will be with Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas.

JAKE BENNETT

Bennett is the most interesting case on the list, as he has been phenomenal since getting the call to the big leagues but just hit a career-high in innings pitched, as he is sitting at 80.0 across his time with Triple-A Worcester and Boston — recently surpassing the 75.1 he finished with in 2025.

Bennett is just two years removed from suffering an elbow injury that required him to undergo Tommy John surgery in mid-September 2023.

If they view him as a long-term option, they might want to make some difficult decisions.

PAYTON TOLLE

Tolle, too, is hovering around a career-high in innings pitched — with the flamethrowing left-hander sitting at 89.1 in 2025 after finishing with 91.2 in 2026.

Boston probably isn’t rushing to shut him down, but perhaps they start working in extra rest days in order to help him last the entire season.

Let me say, before you read any further, that this is definitely a first world problem, not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things.

And I’ve written about this before, most recently in April 2025.

The scoreboard photo above brought this idea back to me. This is how the “AMERICAN” side of the board looked on Monday, June 29, the first day of the Cubs series against the Padres last week.

If you are reading this article on a computer, you can probably see the difference between “LOS ANGELES (NL)” and “LOS ANGELES (AL)”. But if you’re on your phone — or, more importantly, sitting 400+ feet away from the board at Wrigley Field, you probably can’t tell which L.A. team was playing at the A’s, and which one was at the Mariners.

I’m a bit closer to the board than most at Wrigley from my perch in the left field bleachers and even I had to enlarge that photo before I figured out that the Dodgers were playing in West Sacramento and the Angels were at Seattle.

And as you can see, there’s already a team name there (“ATHLETICS”). The Cubs, as the home team at Wrigley, also have their team name on the board. In fact, this is how the bottom left of the board looked in early June when the Cubs hosted the A’s:

Most websites and apps now show MLB teams with their team names instead of the cities. Here, for example, is the top of the scoreboard page on the MLB app for today’s games:

So get with the program, Cubs. Next time the board is painted, replace city names with team names. It’s cleaner looking, will clearly identify the Los Angeles (and New York) teams and matches what most fans see in other places.

Oh, and one more thing. What on Earth is this?

And by “this,” I mean — why is there a serif on the “1” indicating the starting pitcher? At no other place on the board do any of the number “1”s have a serif. This was added when the board was re-painted a year ago. It looks like a mistake to me. While you’re changing to team names, Cubs, get rid of that serif.

That concludes my TED talk for today. Carry on.

The Milwaukee Brewers have a doubleheader on deck Tuesday, as they’ll begin with game one with Jacob Misiorowski starting opposite the Cardinals’ Matt Svanson.

The big news out of Milwaukee today is the call-up of top outfield prospect Luis Lara. Lara, 21, signed a seven-year, $31 million contract in early June and now gets his first taste of the majors. If you want to learn more about the youngster, check out Paul’s article from this morning or Adam’s dive into Milwaukee’s front office philosophy from last month.

Of course, in order to call Lara up, the Brewers had to make a corresponding move. That leaves outfielder Blake Perkins as the odd man out, as he’s sent to Triple-A Nashville. Perkins, 29, is having a rough season after providing 3.3 bWAR over the last three seasons as a depth piece of Milwaukee’s outfield. While he’s still been worth 0.2 bWAR this year, that’s almost entirely due to his above-average defense — he’s hitting just .157/.250/.258 with a homer and 11 RBIs over 101 plate appearances. Given Lara’s defensive prowess, it seems like a similar thought process to the Cooper Pratt-for-Luis Rengifo swap in mid-June — the hitting can’t be much worse, and the defense should be on par (or even better).

The Brewers also announced Robert Gasser as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader, and he’s slated to start game two tonight.

Today's transactions pic.twitter.com/lnKtOVWuh4

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 7, 2026

The Brewers have also not made a move for David Hamilton, who exited Monday night’s game with a reported hamstring injury. It seems likely he’ll be facing an IL stint, but we’ll await word on the severity and any official move. Outfielder Greg Jones and right-handed reliever Easton McGee are reportedly on hand in St. Louis as members of the taxi squad, per Todd Rosiak.

Greg Jones and Easton McGee on hand in STL currently as members of the taxi squad.

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) July 7, 2026

Misiorowski, who was named an All-Star over the weekend, will make his 18th start today, as he’s pitched to a 1.47 ERA, 1.97 FIP, and 156 strikeouts over 104 innings this year. He got roughed up a bit against the Reds last week, allowing five runs (though just one was earned) on five hits, striking out 10 over five innings in his fourth loss of the season.

Svanson gets the ball for the Cardinals in what will be his first career start. After a solid 1.7 bWAR season with a 1.94 ERA and 2.72 FIP over 39 appearances (60 1/3 innings) last year, he’s struggled to a 6.69 ERA and 4.49 FIP over 34 appearances (37 2/3 innings) this season. As you can see from those numbers, he does have the ability to go a couple of innings, which is likely what we’ll see here. With Hunter Dobbins designated as the 27th man and slated to start game two for St. Louis, it seems possible (likely even) that right-hander Michael McGreevy will get the bulk of this game, unless St. Louis opts to save him for tomorrow, as they haven’t yet announced a starter for that one.

Lara isn’t featured in the lineup for the first game today, with a nearly identical lineup to Monday night’s game — the only change is Joey Ortiz starting at third base and batting ninth in place of the injured Hamilton.

First pitch is set for 1:15 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

Let's play two

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm
📻: WTMJ#ThisIsMyCrew x @NicoletLawpic.twitter.com/2hjBiPH4hW

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 7, 2026

Let's play ✌️ pic.twitter.com/kV3JvPqv5l

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 7, 2026

It is time for the Guardians to re-assert themselves as the dominant team in the AL Central when it comes to the Twins.

The Guardians are 47-44 with a -9 run differential, 23rd in MLB with a 93 wRC+, eighth in baserunning runs above average at 3.7, eighth in Defense at -2.2, seventh in starting pitcher ERA at 3.80 (4.10 FIP) and tenth in bullpen ERA at 3.80 (3.84 FIP).

The Twins are 44-47 with a -17 run differential, fifth in MLB with a 106 wRC+, 27th in baserunning runs above average at -4.7, 26th in Defense at -27.5, 18th in starting pitcher ERA 4.43 (4.21 FIP) and 30th in bullpen ERA at 5.28 (4.63 FIP).

Put the ball in play and get into the pen as soon as possible! Byron Buxton tweaked his hip last weekend, so he MAY not play in a game or two, or he may be back. We will see.

Matchups:
Game One, Tuesday 7:40PM ET: Taj Bradley, RHP 3.86 ERA (3.92 FIP) vs. Joey Cantillo, LHP
Game Two, Wednesday 7:40PM ET: Connor Prielipp, LHP 4.96 ERA (3.63 FIP) vs. Slade Cecconi, RHP
Game Three, Thursday 1:40PM ET: Mike Parades, RHP 4.60 ERA (6.08 FIP) vs. Gavin Williams, RHP

The Twins are led on offense by Ryan Jeffers 165 wRC+, Byron Buxton 146 wRC+, Trevor Larnach 136 wRC+, Kody Clemens 118 wRC+, Ryan Kreidler 114 wRC+, Alex Jackson 109 wRC+, Brooks Lee 104 wRC+, and Josh Bell 104 wRC+.

The Guardians are led by Austin Hedges 114 wRC+,Chase DeLauter 114 wRC+, Travis Bazzana 112 wRC+, Brayan Rocchio 114 wRC+ and David Fry 104 wRC+.

Kinda need Kahlil Watson to rebound from a tough end to the White Sox series and Cooper Ingle to find his footing a bit to have a good shot at winning this series.

Second place is still a long shot but it could happen! It’s a fair question to ask, too. While there was a lot to be encouraged about from this last homestand when it comes to the Atlanta Braves finally and eventually breaking out of extended run of bad form, it’s clear that they’re not quite out of the funk just yet. The offense is back to hitting bombs and putting up crooked numbers but that’s coincided with the bullpen finally starting to show some cracks. Now granted, the bullpen is still in strong form but you know it’s a bit wobbly when Raisel Iglesias finally blew a save.

All that has led to this point: The divisional lead is now down to three games in the final week of action before the All-Star break. While the Phillies have finally slowed down a bit from the furious pace that they have been on for a while now (and getting demolished in a three game series by the Royals is, um, something), they’ve still been one game better (5-5) than the Braves (4-6) over their past 10 games, so they’re still gaining ground. The Phillies have the Reds and Tigers to finish things off while the Braves have the Pirates and Cardinals. Atlanta will likely still be in first place by the time the break rolls around but they will certainly have to earn it in order to remain on top heading into the second half of the season.

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July 7-9: Pittsburgh Pirates

Current Record: 46-45 Projected Record (via FanGraphs): 83-79

Well, the Braves can’t escape Paul Skenes this time! Hot off the heels of a wacky and wild ending to a four-game series against the Mets, the Braves will now have to take on Skenes in Pittsburgh with no rest for the weary after a late night in Atlanta. The good news is that, well, Skenes has hit the skids a bit. As this piece from Kiri Oler from FanGraphs notes, Skenes has a 5.36 ERA over his past nine starts and hasn’t exactly looked like the dominant force that helped propel him to the All-MLB First Team and an NL Cy Young Award as well.

Skenes gave up eight runs (seven earned) in his most recent start against the Phillies and that was after he gave up four runs in five innings to the Reds. His last really dominant performance was back on May 12 when he struck out 10 batters over eight shutout innings against the Rockies. Ever since then, he’s found it tough to navigate the waters and this could actually be an opportunity for a newly-resurgent Braves offense to continue moving in the right direction if Skenes continues to struggle.

Maybe seeing the Pirates again could be a tonic for the Braves since the last time these two locked horns, the Braves were busy dusting off a sweep at Pittsburgh’s expense. I’m very skeptical that we’ll see another sweep here and if we do, Atlanta’s pitching staff will have bounced back as well since the Pirates have actually been hitting the ball pretty well lately. Ever since the sweep in early-June, Pittsburgh has been hitting .285/.351/.482 at the plate with a 126 team wRC+ and a .362 team wOBA. Their offense essentially went in the opposite direction of Atlanta’s after that sweep and a lot of that has to do with guys like Bryan Reynolds, Nick Gonzales, Tyler Calihan and Endy Rodriguez going on a tear at the plate since then. Konnor Griffin has also been getting it done as well.

It’s not exactly encouraging considering how the pitching has fared lately but also, the Pirates won’t have a super-imposing run of starters going for this one either. On top of Paul Skenes struggling, Wednesday’s starter Jared Jones hasn’t been the model of consistency for Pittsburgh so far and the last time the Braves saw Mitch Keller, they bombed him for six runs over 4.2 innings. We could be in for some more high-scoring, topsy-turvy games based on how both teams have been performing as of late.

Tuesday, July 7 at 6:40 p.m. ET (BravesVision, GrayTV)
Wednesday, July 8 at 6:40 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Thursday, July 9 at 12:35 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

July 10-12: St. Louis Cardinals

Current Record: 47-41 Projected Record: 83-79

Similar to how the season series with the Giants ended up being structured, the Braves and the Cardinals are going to end up getting their hostilities out of the way over the course of a two-week span. Things didn’t go particularly well for the Braves against the Giants so hopefully things will be different for the Braves as they travel to St. Louis to finish their season series against the Cardinals.

The Cardinals may have been struggling before they ran into a Braves team that was struggling more than they were but it appears that they’ve shaken it off. St. Louis walked into Wrigley Field the day after putting 11 runs on the Braves and proceeded to drop 17 on the Cubs to open the series. They then won the series the next day as they put a screeching halt to the heater that the Cubs had been on (Chicago beat San Diego 23-3 they day before they got beat 17-1! The 2026 Cubs, man.). I am sure that Chip Caray had a hootin’-and-hollerin’ time throughout that Atlanta-Chicago road trip.

St. Louis is now in the midst of a five (5!) game series with the Brewers and one that could have St. Louis getting closer to their divisional rivals in the standings with the break ahead. The Cardinals did drop the first game and now a doubleheader awaits them on Tuesday, so we’ll see if they can get back into the swing of things in that series or if the Brewers can continue to hold them at bay.

Due to the demands of the five-game series (including the doubleheader today), St. Louis’s pitching schedule is all up in the air so it’s really tough to figure who’s going to be pitching this weekend against the Braves. Dustin May is an option for the weekend and he’ll surely be looking to get a measure of revenge for what happened to him on a muggy night in Atlanta. No matter who the Cardinals have pitching, it’ll be imperative for the Braves to figure out a way to keep Jordan Walker and JJ Wetherholt from tipping the scales. Nathan Church was also an absolute pain to deal with when the Braves were in Atlanta, so keeping that particular trio quiet will be conducive to any type of success that the Braves will hope to have to close out the first half of the season.

Friday, July 10 at 8:15 p.m. ET (Apple TV)
Saturday, July 11 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Sunday, July 12 at 2:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

The Yankees, having existed for well over a century, have had more than their fair share of characters don their uniform. Some of them were stars like Yogi Berra, and some of them were role players like Billy Martin. It’s players like them that add some texture to the history of the team and of the game, reminding us that though we come to see the best of the best play, sometimes we stay for the interesting characters on the side. George Moriarty, known for combining an easygoing demeanor off the baseball diamond with a rough-and-tumble personality in the clubhouse, was one of those characters.

George Joseph Moriarty
Born: July 7, 1885 (Chicago, IL)
Died: April 8, 1964 (Miami, FL)
Yankees Tenure: 1906-1908 (player)

George Moriarty was born in Chicago to a former semi-pro catcher, and dropped out of school at an early age to pursue baseball. He played in various semi-pro leagues around the city and even began his professional baseball career in 1901 at 16. He signed with the Davenport River Rats and the Rock Island Islanders in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. He played in 110 games during the first of three seasons he would spend in the Three-I League. Moriarty was then moved to the Bloomington Blues in 1902 and, once again, to the Joliet Standards/Springfield Foot Trackers to play ball there in 1903. He hit .232 in 1902 and .222 in Joliet/Springfield. Moriarty took a job in Chicago toward the end of 1903, and in an exhibition game against the Cubs, Moriarty started a triple play at third base. The Cubs’ manager, Frank Selee, decided to give Moriarty a one-game tryout on the last day of the 1903 season.

On the day of the one-game tryout, those in the press box noted that Moriarty was nervous in his debut and went 0-for-5. Despite his poor performance at the plate, he managed to make another tryout with the Cubs in the spring of 1904.

The first four games for Moriarty in a Cubs uniform were strikingly bad, as he did not register a hit in 14 plate appearances, and his only time on base came on a walk. As a result, he was sent back to the minors, and after the Southern Association’s sale to Little Rock, he was sent to the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association.

Moriarty played 136 games and not only found his stride at the plate, batting .295 by season’s end, but he also began to earn his scrappy reputation. There were plenty of stories about the third baseman fighting those who gave him attitude with his bare hands while also continuing his excellent play on the field.

Moriarty led the league with 51 steals for Toledo in Class-A ball in 1905, and after that excellent year on the basepaths, he joined the New York Highlanders (now the Yankees) when his contract was sold for the 1906 season. He played all over the field in his first season with New York at the age of 20, including second, third, left, and center field, finishing with a slash line of .234/.298/.340 in 65 games.

In 1907 with the Highlanders, Moriarty became a full-time utility player, registering 474 plate appearances while playing seven different positions. He also upped his play at the plate, moving from a .234 average to a .277 average, a .320 on-base percentage, and a .336 slugging percentage, all of which were better than the league average. His on-base and slugging percentages that year would remain career highs for the rest of his time on a baseball diamond.

Moriarty stayed in the same role in 1908 under managers Clark Griffith and Kid Elberfeld. He continued to get playing time, but his numbers dropped sharply, finishing at .236/.269/.276. Along with the drop in the individual numbers, the Highlanders finished dead last in the American League with a record of 51-103. They were 39.5 games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers, and they finished 17 games behind the second-to-last place Washington Senators.

But for Moriarty, the end of the season resulted in some good news. The Highlanders had sold him to the top of the table: the Detroit Tigers.

Instead of being a utility player, Moriarty was made the team’s consistent third baseman. He helped the Tigers win another pennant in 1909, despite the team losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. And his time with the Tigers was when his reputation as a fighter grew from just a story here or there. He was willing to spar with anyone who stepped up.

Tigers legend Ty Cobb reportedly wanted to fight Moriarty, and, according to the Society for American Baseball Research, Moriarty promptly handed Cobb a baseball bat, saying he’d need it to even have a chance. Cobb did not take the challenge. But he was not the same player on the field as he was off of it, being known for his quiet and peaceful demeanor on the diamond.

Moriarty would play with Detroit for another five years from 1910 to 1915. His best year came in 1914 at the age of 29, when he played in 132 games and finished with a slash line of .254/.318/.323, the best of his time with the Tigers. He also remained a stalwart on defense, as he was throughout his career.

In the 1915 season, Moriarty played only 31 games, ultimately gave up his job at third base to 25-year-old Ossie Vitt, and spent the year assisting manager Hughie Jennings as a player-coach. The Tigers gave Moriarty his unconditional release that November.

The third baseman joined the Chicago White Sox in 1916 and, after going 1-for-5 as a pinch-hitter, Moriarty was released and was named manager of the Memphis Chickasaws in Memphis, TN. But after his managerial career in the minor leagues, he found his real calling in 1917 — umpiring.

Moriarty was a major league umpire from 1917 to 1940, with a break in 1927 and 1928 to take over as the Tigers’ manager after Ty Cobb. He finished after two seasons, when his contract expired, with a 150-157 record at the helm of the team. His Tigers finished fourth and sixth in the American League and eventually returned to umpiring, garnering plenty of stories along the way.

One of the most notable stories was when Moriarty came to the defense of future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg in the 1935 World Series, issuing numerous warnings to the Chicago Cubs bench to stop yelling antisemitic slurs at the Tigers slugger. When they did not listen and continued, he ejected three Cubs players, which ultimately resulted in a $200 fine from the league commissioner. That World Series was one of five he umpired (and was the crew chief for two of them), and he umpired the second-ever MLB All-Star Game in 1934 at the Polo Grounds, when the Giants’ Carl Hubbell famously struck out legends Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin all in a row.

Following his extensive major-league umpiring career, Moriarty worked as a scout, a writer, and in other roles, and spent the rest of his days in Miami, where he passed away on April 8, 1964, at the age of 79 due to kidney cancer. He was buried at Saint Mary Catholic Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois.

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See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

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It’s a massive day on the diamond with 16 games, and I’ve got a trio of MLB same-game parlay predictions to cover you throughout the action on Tuesday, July 7.

My top MLB picks call for plenty of offense in the Chicago Cubs vs. Baltimore Orioles matchup, and wrap up with the Minnesota Twins cashing in as home favorites (-118) against the Cleveland Guardians tonight.

Today's best MLB SGP picks

Cubs vs Orioles SGP: Count on offense at Camden

The Chicago Cubs have been powered by outfielders Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki over the past 25 games, with the duo posting respective .498 and .374 wOBAs.

Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki are also well-positioned to stay hot against Baltimore Orioles right-hander Shane Baz, who owns a pedestrian 4.47 xERA and xFIP.

Turning to Orioles outfielder Taylor Ward, he’s teed off on southpaws to the tune of a .381 wOBA, and Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd has surrendered a healthy .420 xwOBAcon.

This SGP is in play down to +300.

• Time: 6:35 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MASN, MARQ 

Athletics vs Tigers SGP: Skubal shines at Comerica

The Detroit Tigers are on a 10-6 run while ranking fourth in xwOBA, and ace Tarik Skubal has held opposing hitters to a minuscule .238 wOBA and .538 OPS at Comerica Park over the past three years. 

With Athletics righty J.T. Ginn sporting a 4.88 xFIP and 1.55 WHIP across his past five starts, the Tigers are set to cash in at the dish again tonight and pull away for the lopsided win. This total is also too low, with the Athletics ranking fourth in ISO and seventh in wOBA against lefties. 

Detroit star Riley Greene is batting .310 against righties this season, and he’s recorded a hit in nine of his past 13 games while batting .320 with a monster .447 xwOBA.

This SGP is playable down to +310.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: DSN, NBCSCA 

Guardians vs Twins SGP: Bradley and Buxton carry Minny

The Cleveland Guardians rank 29th in xwOBA while averaging just 3.8 runs per game since star Jose Ramirez sustained a hand injury, and they’re in tough against Minnesota Twins righty Taj Bradley.

Bradley has spun a tidy 2.24 xERA while holding opposing hitters to a 7.4% blast contact rate across his past three starts, so I like him to cruise through the Cleveland lineup tonight.

The final leg of this same-game parlay turns to Twins star Byron Buxton, who’s posted a monster .400 wOBA against righties this season and a .396 xwOBA across 25 games since June 1.

I recommend this SGP down to +275.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MNNT, CLEG

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

We are now 4 days away from the 2026 MLB Draft, where the Washington Nationals will have the 11th overall pick and are looking to add another key piece to their farm system and a potential building block towards long-term success. Yesterday, I completed my draft big board, which you can read here if you are interested, and I wanted to create a game where fans could get more engaged not only in who the Nationals will be picking, but also in everyone ahead of them as well.

Thus, I created the MLB Draft Prediction Game, a game where you predict the top 11 picks of the 2026 MLB Draft and gain points the more often you are correct. Correctly predicting who a team will draft is worth 5 points, predicting the position that they draft from is worth 2 points, and predicting if a team chooses a high school or college prospect is worth one point.

The added twist for Nats fans is that all points from correct predictions of the Nationals pick are worth three times as much, so correctly predicting who the Nationals will select is worth as much as predicting three other picks.

The overall winner is whoever accumulates the most points once the game has ended. The prize for the winner, if they want it, will be eternal glory, and a shoutout in our post-draft article here on Federal Baseball. Feel free to also copy your results after you submit and discuss your methods in the comments below. Check out the game below, and enjoy!

On Saturday, July 11, Major League Baseball will host its 61st annual Rule 4 draft, better known as the first-year player draft. Thanks to their 83-79 record during the 2025 season, the Mets were lined up to make the 17th overall pick. Since the Mets exceeded the Competitive Balance Tax threshold by more than $40 million, their first-round selection will drop 10 places to 27 instead.

Because the Mets signed Bo Bichette, a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer over the off-season, the team forfeited its second-highest pick in the draft, meaning they will not be making a pick in the second round. Their next pick will instead be in the third round, the 92nd selection overall. Following that, they will be making the 120th overall pick in the fourth round, 152nd pick in the fifth round, 181st pick in the sixth round, 210th pick in the seventh round, 240th pick in the eighth round, 270th pick in the ninth round, 300th pick in the tenth round, and a selection every thirty picks in rounds 11-20.

The Mets have a $6,730,900 bonus pool to work with in the 2026 MLB Draft, the third lowest behind the Blue Jays and their $5,543,100 pool and the Dodgers and their $3,951,900 pool. In entirety, all 30 teams have been allotted $358,662,500 by Major League Baseball, an increase from $350,357,700 last season, as pick values have increased by 2.5 percent, reflecting MLB revenue increases.

The Mets’ first-round selection, the 27th overall pick, has an MLB-assigned slot value of $3,466,500. Their third-round selection, the 92nd overall pick, has an $859,900 slot value. Their fourth-round selection, the 120th overall pick, has a $645,100. Their fifth-round selection, the 152nd overall pick, $472,500 slot value. Their sixth-round selection, the 181st overall pick, has a $364,600 slot value. Their seventh-round selection, the 210th overall pick, has a $287,800 slot value. Their eighth-round selection, the 240th overall pick, has a $232,100 slot value. Their ninth-round selection, the 270th overall pick, has a $207,200 slot value. Their tenth-round selection, the 300th overall pick, has a $195,200 slot value.

In order to be eligible to be selected in the 2026 MLB Draft, a player must meet the criteria applicable to them:

• Be a resident of, or have attended an educational institution in, the United States, Canada, or a U.S. territory such as Puerto Rico. Players from other countries are not subject to the draft and can be signed by any team unless they have attended an educational institution in the aforementioned areas.
• Have never signed a major or minor league contract.
• High school players are eligible only after graduation, and if they have not attended college.
• Players at four-year colleges and universities are eligible three years after first enrolling in such an institution, or after their 21st birthdays (whichever occurs first).
• Junior and community college players are eligible to be drafted at any time.

MJ Melendez

Week: 6 G, 21 AB, .286/.375/.857, 6 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 3 BB, 6 K, 0/0 SB (Triple-A)

2026 Season: 20 G, 72 AB, .236/.313/.556, 17 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 8 BB, 19 K, 1/3 SB, .234 BABIP (Triple-A) / 56 G, 120 AB, .192/.315/.350, 23 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 17 BB, 50 K, 0/1 SB, .284 BABIP (MLB)

Following his optioning back down to Triple-A, MJ Melendez made about as good a case as one can make that it was the wrong move, slugging four home runs in his six games back with the Syracuse Mets. Coming into this series against the Worcester Red Sox, the outfielder/DH had a .216/.286/.431 batting line in his 14 games with Syracuse; now, Melendez is hitting .236/.313/.556, his batting average up .20 points, his on-base percentage up about .30 points, and his slugging percentage up roughly .120 points.

Melendez was optioned down to Triple-A because Tyrone Taylor was activated from the Injured List after spending a month on it due to a right hip flexor strain. All things considered, Melendez has been the better player of the two, posting a 92 wRC+ in limited at-bats to Taylor’s 61 in a similar amount of limited at-bats. With that in mind, Taylor has defensive utility that Melendez does not have, has more versatile as a bench player, and seemingly has the favor of GM David Stearns, who had Taylor rostered on the Milwaukee Brewers when he was GM there and then traded for him in one of his first moves as Mets President of Baseball Operations.

Optimally, with Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing really having established themselves, Juan Soto being Juan Soto, and Luis Robert Jr. making his way back from injury, the Mets have enough starter outfield depth that neither Melendez nor Taylor or anyone else see too many at-bats in Queens.

Daviel Hurtado

Week: 2 G (1 GS), 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (Single-A)

2026 Season: 4 G (3 GS), 9.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 5 ER (5.00 ERA), 1 BB, 15 K, .409 BABIP (Single-A) / 8 G (7 GS), 36.1 IP, 15 H, 6 R, 6 ER (1.49 ERA), 5 BB, 35 K, .165 BABIP (High-A)

For a little bit, it looked as if we were going to have dual winners, as Jack Wenninger and Daviel Hurtado both had identical Game Scores of 77, the former throwing seven scoreless innings against the Worcester Red Sox with one hit allowed, three walks, and five strikeouts, and the latter throwing six scoreless innings against the Frederick Keyes, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out 8. Had that been it, it would have been the first time in almost a calendar year that two pitchers won; last year, Wellington Aracena & Brandon Sproat both won during Week Fourteen, which took place between June 24th and June 29th.

But then on Sunday, Hurtado entered the game in the bottom of the fifth and pitched two additional scoreless innings, allowing a single hit and striking out three more. While the game was technically never completed, suspended in the eighth because of rain, I am counting it regardless and Daviel Hurtado is our Pitcher of the Week; already the reigning, defending, undisputed Pitcher of the Week, Hurtado is the first pitcher this season to win it in back-to-back weeks, and becomes the fourth pitcher in 2026 to win twice, joining Channing Austin, Jose Chirinos, and Jonathan Santucci.

Since joining the Cyclones, the Cuban left-hander has thrown 18.2 innings at home at Maimonides Park and 17.2 innings at three different away stadiums- ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood, Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, and Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick. At home, Hurtado has allowed just one run (0.48 ERA), scattering 7 hits, walking 3, and striking out 14. On the road, he has allowed five runs (2.55 ERA), scattering 9 hits, walking 2, and striking out 21. While Brooklyn has certainly helped Hurtado’s surface numbers a bit, it’s not like he’s been disastrous or anything like that outside of the friendly confines of Coney Island.

While it’s great to see Hurtado having success, I’m still not exactly sure how viable he is as an actual prospect. As I discussed last week, his four-seam fastball doesn’t have great shape and should be scrapped in favor of his sinker, with Hurtado seeing most of his positive results from his slider and curveball. At this moment, I would not say that either pitch is above-average at this point; to me, both are as effective as they are currently due to pure movement, rather than effective movement. That is, at the lower level of the minor leagues, a pitch with a ton of movement, like a casually sweeping slider that starts at one side of the plate and breaks to the other or a big 12-6 curveball that starts at the letters and lands below the knees, can be extremely devastating. Against the more advanced hitters in the upper level of the minors, batters can sit on pitches like that. Pitches that have sharper, more sudden, late movement are generally more effective than pitches that just have a lot of movement.

There’s a good chance that the southpaw ends up on the backend of the 2027 Mets Top 25 Prospect list anyway, simply because the system is so paper thin as of this moment, but it is my opinion that the left-hander is going to need to sharpen up his repertoire if he is going to have success in Double-A and potentially beyond.

Players of the Week 2026

Week One/Two (March 27-April 5): Hayden Senger/Cam Tilly

Week Three (April 7-April 12): A.J. Ewing/Christian Scott

Week Four (April 14-April 18): Randy Guzman/Jose Chirinos

Week Five (April 21-April 26): A.J. Ewing/Channing Austin

Week Six (April 30-May 3): A.J. Ewing/Jonah Tong

Week Seven (May 5-May 10): Ryan Clifford/Jonathan Santucci

Week Eight: (May 12-May 17): Jacob Reimer/Zach Thornton

Week Nine: (May 19-May 24): Ryan Clifford/Channing Austin

Week Ten: (May 26-May 31): Ryan Clifford/Jose Chirinos

Week Eleven: (June 2-June 7): Vincent Perozo/Frank Camarillo

Week Twelve: (June 9-June 14): JT Benson/Nick Carreno

Week Thirteen (June 16-June 21): Nick Morabito/Jonathan Santucci

Week Fourteen (June 23-June 28): JT Benson/Daviel Hurtado

Here is a look at the Astros prospects who were hot last week.

HITTERS:

Chase Call – Call has been a little boom or bust this year but when he’s hot, he’s hot. This week he hit .526 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 13 runs batted in. Call is hitting .237 this season with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 18 stolen bases through 61 games.

Josh Wakefield – Wakefield got off to a nice start but an injured derailed him a bit. He’s back now and had a nice week hitting .381 with 2 doubles, a home run and 6 runs batted in. He also stole 3 bases and had more walks than strikeouts. He has 32 stolen bases this year. 

Waner Luciano – Luciano has been on a roll and he was great this week. In six games for the Woodpeckers, Luciano hit .348 with 2 doubles, 4 home runs and 10 runs batted in. He has a .843 OPS through 26 games in Single-A this season.

Nehomar Ochoa – Ochoa has put together a really strong season at just 20 years old. This week, Ochoa hit .455 with 4 doubles, a home run and 7 runs batted in. He’s hitting .283 with 15 doubles, 11 home runs and 28 stolen bases between 62 games this season.

Jack Moss – Moss was signed by the Astros this year after being released by the Reds earlier this year. The 24-year-old first baseman has been great since joining Asheville and had a nice week hitting .500 with 2 doubles, a home run and 9 runs batted in. He’s hitting .389 in Asheville.

PITCHERS:

Brett Gillis – Gillis has been on a roll for the Hooks and turned in another strong outing. He relieved Wesneski after a rehab start and went 5 innings allowing just 1 run. He has a 3.33 ERA this through 67.2 innings, allowing just 49 hits for the Hooks.

Kellan Oakes – Oakes got off to a great start this year but struggled a bit in Asheville. This week he had his best outing allowing 1 run over 6 innings. While he has a 4.75 ERA overall, he has racked up 58 strikeouts over 47.1 innings between Single-A and High-A.

Jackson Nezuh – Like some others on the list, Nezuh has really started to get it rolling. This week he went 7 innings allowing 1 run while striking out 5. He has a 4.18 ERA and allowed just 2 runs over his last 12 innings while striking out 14 for the Hooks.

Javier Perez – Perez has arguably been the best pitcher in the system this season. This week the right-hander tossed 5 scoreless innings with 9 strikeouts for the Woodpeckers. He has a 3.10 ERA with just 10 walks to 86 strikeouts over 72.2 innings this season.

Yeriel Santos – Santos has had a tough year but he had his best outing of the season this week. In his one start for Asheville, the right-hander tossed 6 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts.

The trade deadline is approaching, and the Kansas City Royals have decisions to make. Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco use this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast to work through every angle of what should be one of the most consequential stretches in the organization’s near-term future.

The episode opens with a look at the recent homestand struggles, including a matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies, defensive inconsistency, and a bullpen that has not been able to stabilize for any sustained period. The coaching staff’s decision-making and lineup management draw comparison to how the Phillies have navigated their own challenges.

The injury report continues to be long and consequential. Kyle Isbel has suffered a setback, Vinnie Pasquantino heads to Omaha, and Maikel Garcia’s status is cloudier than a Kansas spring sky. Cole Ragans’ injury gives him a trifecta of surgeries that no pitcher should look to achieve.

On a more celebratory note, Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Wacha earned All-Star selections, recognition that the hosts acknowledge with appropriate pride before turning the conversation back to what the trade value could look like if the front office decides to be aggressive sellers. The Lugo and Wacha trade conversation from previous episodes gets expanded here, with Salvador Perez’s potential trade value, injury concerns, and legacy also entering the discussion.

The talent pipeline evaluation is thorough. Jacob and Jeremy work through prospect valuations, FanGraphs future value grades, and specific names the organization should be targeting in return if they move established pieces. The hosts also examine the Minnesota Twins’ recent fire sale as a case study for what a bold deadline approach could look like, and whether the Royals’ front office has the appetite to follow that model.

Need your Royals fix? Head to royalsreview.com for news, analysis, and to engage with Royals fans around the world! Follow us online:

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– Jeremy Greco: @hokius.fromthehawkseye.com
– Jacob Milham: @jacobmilhkc.bsky.social

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The trade deadline is a time of wonder and curiosity. Teams are on the lookout for ways to improve themselves when the options they have internally are no longer good enough. We have been blessed to have relative blockbusters go down in the past few trade deadlines, making the news exciting to cover. Talking about trades is always fun, which is why I included a post in The Feed.

You were kind enough to respond with a lot of great and thoughtful responses, so let’s talk about some of them.

It still is quite strange that Alex McFarlane remains in Reading. His season has been a successful transition from being a starter to a full-time reliever. The stuff he is showing is big league ready, followed up by results that match. And yet, at Double-A he remains. He has yet to throw the major league baseball that is used in Lehigh Valley, meaning there might have to be some kind of adjustment to the ball whenever he does get a promotion somewhere. Maybe he becomes the 2026 version of Orion Kerkering, maybe he just is getting ready for 2027.

Yet the idea of including him in the big league bullpen and expecting instant success might be a little far fetched. As mentioned, the actual baseball is going to be different in the two leagues, so adjustment must be accounted for. Then there is the natural adjustment pitchers go through in their jump to the majors. Put that all together with his being included in a pennant race and the ingredients are there for a less than successful move.

As far as the idea of trading Andrew Painter and Gage Wood for Aroldis Chapman and Sonny Gray, that’s something I just cannot get on board with. I’ve been pretty critical of Painter lately, not really impressed by his latest start in Lehigh Valley despite the on box score results he had. Chapman is a rental only and Painter does still possess tantalizing upside if he can figure out how to tap into it.

There is always a flaw in thinking that a team has an excess of anything – pitching, infield, whatever position it is on the field. We have seen in the past the Phillies believe they have a lot of something only to find themselves left empty handed when the time is near. Remember the Baby Aces?

However, yes, there are some infield prospects to move in potential deals. Escobar has been the biggest name the team has had based on past reputation, yet his season this year has been disappointing. Rincon has taken a leap a bit this year, but probably isn’t one that would lead any kind of trade, instead finding himself as more of a secondary piece than anything. In the outfield, Nori would probably have fetched something decent based somewhat on the improvement he showed in the WBC and at the beginning of the season, but a recent injury that the team has been quite mum about clouds any trade value he had.

Tomorrow will mark one month since Dante Nori was pulled from a game with a lower body injury. The report was he wouldn't need much more than the 7 days on the IL, but he hasn't been activated yet

— Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) July 5, 2026

Agreed that these are some of the names the Phillies could look to move in a deal, but a combination of injury and regression has hurt a few of them.

Alirio Ferrebus is a name that I would expect to come up quite a bit in trade talks. He has had an outstanding season, rocking a 132 wRC+ in Clearwater as a 20 year old catcher. There are some things to worry about in his profile (the whole “catcher” thing, swinging a lot), but he hits the ball hard and doesn’t strike out much at all. If he can improve as an actual catcher, that’s a valuable commodity to have so long as the bat continues to improve. Is that something that would lead a trade package? Obviously would depend on what it is the team is trading for. If we’re talking about an impact bat, then probably not. If a team is going to move that impact bat, they would probably want something more of a high upside arm (re: Gage Wood) or a similarly high upside bat that plays somewhere else on the diamond.

The issue that is continuing to become obvious is lack of those high upside players the team has that they would be willing to dangle in a trade. The injury to Aidan Miller, the slight regression of Andrew Painter and the big league promotion of Justin Crawford has left them with a system that has precious little other teams would covet in a deal. Maybe there is a pop-up prospect that teams would like to take (Juan Villavicencio, Ramon Marquez to name two), maybe there is someone other teams might feel they can do more with than what the Phillies have done.

They will get a deal done and when they do, we’ll probably sit back and say “That’s it?” when it happens. It’s usually the case. But, we can continue debating here in the comments until the deadline hits. Go Phillies.